Khargone, Dhar: A committee of experts has been constituted to probe the Dhar dam leakage, an official said on Saturday. At least 18 villages have been evacuated in MPs Dhar and Khargone after a leakage in the under-construction dam was reported.
On the instructions of CM Chauhan, the Water resources department, Fisheries and fisheries development minister Tulsiram Silawat, Industrial policy and investment promotion minister Rajyavardhan Singh along with Divisional Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma are on the spot to oversee the repair works. In a media briefing, Tulisaram said- that the water from the dam is being drained from the other end in order to decrease the pressure on the dam walls that caused the leakage.
Authorities have shifted residents of 12 villages of Dhar district and 6 in Khargone district to safer places. Moving people to safer places has been taken as a precautionary measure, said Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Home Dr Rajesh Rajora. Moreover, an alert is also sound for villages in line downstream of the dam.
The under-construction dam started to leak after the region witnessed heavy rainfall. Being filled for the first time this monsoon, the 590 meters long/52-meter high under-construction dam is a medium-level irrigation project, that stores15 million cubic meters (MCM) water in its reservoir.
A team of NDRF and SDRF and 2 IAF choppers have been put on standby in case of untoward situations. Efforts to repair the leak were unsuccessful and the seepage increased thus tauting evacuation.