Dam crisis: Army on site, IAF on standby, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan dials PM Narendra Modi & Amit Shah | Bhopal News
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MHOW/BHOPAL: The Army moved in on Saturday to neutralize the threat posed by a breach in Karam dam on river Nalcha in MP’s Dhar, which has led to the evacuation of 10,000 people and kept the entire region on the tenterhooks.
On the same day, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah and requested for Air Force choppers to be kept on standby. It’s an indication of the magnitude of the threat.
As many as 18 villages downstream of Karam River have been evacuated, a dozen of them in the last 24 hours. Twelve of them are in Dhar district and six in Khargone. The under-construction dam, which according to officials is 90% complete, sprung leaks on Thursday. The reservoir was filled up for the first time this monsoon but the walls failed within days.
After government engineers failed to plug the breach for 48 hours, the Army was called in. Soldiers from the Bhopal-based Sudarshan Chakra Corps arrived in the wee hours of Saturday, barricaded the area and went to work with heavy machinery.
The 40 soldiers from Army Engineers Corps, including two officers and 15 JCOs, are among 400-odd personnel from the water resources department (WRD), police and administration working frantically to empty Karam dam’s reservoir.
Two IAF helicopters on standby: Sources
Two IAF choppers are on standby, government sources said. WRD subdivisional officer VK Siddiqui said that the first thing the Army did was to clear out all civilians, who had gathered to see the dam repair. The soldiers deployed two earth movers to the left of a hill, which is the lowest point that can be excavated easily to let the reservoir water pass into Nalcha river. The Army strategy is working and the reservoir is being safely emptied, said officials.
Executive engineer PK Kharat and SDO Siddiqui told TOI, “A large team of engineers from our department was deployed to tackle the situation. Our senior officers re- alized that Army engineers should be called as they frequently tackle such situations in the border areas. Nearly 4 million cubic meter (MCM) water has been siphoned out of the reservoir in the last 24 hours and 6-7 MCM water remains. This needs to be drained into the river as well.”
Dhar ADM Shringar Shrivastava told mediapersons on Saturday that the people evacuated from 18 villages have been put up at public buildings and dharmshalas in Dhar, Dhamnod, Manawar, Kukshi and Nalcha. The administration and social organisations are taking care of food and other requirements. Police and STF have been deployed in villages to ensure that no one returns. Section 144 is clamped in the region
On the same day, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah and requested for Air Force choppers to be kept on standby. It’s an indication of the magnitude of the threat.
As many as 18 villages downstream of Karam River have been evacuated, a dozen of them in the last 24 hours. Twelve of them are in Dhar district and six in Khargone. The under-construction dam, which according to officials is 90% complete, sprung leaks on Thursday. The reservoir was filled up for the first time this monsoon but the walls failed within days.
After government engineers failed to plug the breach for 48 hours, the Army was called in. Soldiers from the Bhopal-based Sudarshan Chakra Corps arrived in the wee hours of Saturday, barricaded the area and went to work with heavy machinery.
The 40 soldiers from Army Engineers Corps, including two officers and 15 JCOs, are among 400-odd personnel from the water resources department (WRD), police and administration working frantically to empty Karam dam’s reservoir.
Two IAF helicopters on standby: Sources
Two IAF choppers are on standby, government sources said. WRD subdivisional officer VK Siddiqui said that the first thing the Army did was to clear out all civilians, who had gathered to see the dam repair. The soldiers deployed two earth movers to the left of a hill, which is the lowest point that can be excavated easily to let the reservoir water pass into Nalcha river. The Army strategy is working and the reservoir is being safely emptied, said officials.
Executive engineer PK Kharat and SDO Siddiqui told TOI, “A large team of engineers from our department was deployed to tackle the situation. Our senior officers re- alized that Army engineers should be called as they frequently tackle such situations in the border areas. Nearly 4 million cubic meter (MCM) water has been siphoned out of the reservoir in the last 24 hours and 6-7 MCM water remains. This needs to be drained into the river as well.”
Dhar ADM Shringar Shrivastava told mediapersons on Saturday that the people evacuated from 18 villages have been put up at public buildings and dharmshalas in Dhar, Dhamnod, Manawar, Kukshi and Nalcha. The administration and social organisations are taking care of food and other requirements. Police and STF have been deployed in villages to ensure that no one returns. Section 144 is clamped in the region
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