State govt negligence has led to TB dam issue, truth will come out if probe is held: Bommai

Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai said the current issues with the Tungabhadra Dam’s crest gate could have been avoided if the state government had taken the recommendations of the Dam Management Committee seriously.

Speaking to the media here on Sunday, he said that the Tungabhadra Dam was constructed during the pre-independence era and has faced several issues over time.

One of the major problems was the accumulation of silt. During the BJP tenure, a DPR was prepared to construct a parallel dam to address these issues. The Dam Management Committee, which was formed by the central government, provided several recommendations.

The state government should have implemented these recommendations with priority. It seems like the government did not take these recommendations seriously.

Had they considered them carefully, this situation could have been avoided, he opined

Bommai said the government must immediately reinforce the chain as well as the entire gate.

They should release funds and start the repair work on the gate.

The safety of the dam and the people should be the government’s priority. This issue might have arisen due to the government’s negligence. They have not taken any precautionary measures.

It could be due to financial or technical reasons, but they would know what happened soon. Engineers and technical experts were present at the dam, and they should have taken precautionary steps.

Weather experts had already predicted heavy rains this year, and the officials should have acted accordingly. However, due to improper management, this issue has occurred. If an investigation is conducted, the truth will come out,

he noted.