- PRESS RELEASE, 07-08-06, Prof. T.Sivajirao

 REDESIGN POLAVARAM DAM TO AVOID KILLING 45

LAKHS PEOPLE IN GODAVARI DELTA

 The collapse of dams due to floods,construction defects,booming,terrorist attacks,earthquqkes an dhuman failures is common in several countries.About 200 dams in the world including 20 in India collapsed during the last century.In order to ensure safety of the dams and to safeguard the lives of thousands of people who are likely to be victimized due to flash floods due to a dam collapse.In order to prevent and control these tragedies the American Government passed dam safety act in 1972.Under this act regular review is made about the safety of the dams and corrective measures are taken by abandoning some of the dams which gradullay become unsafe,by strengthening the major structural components like embankments of some others and by reducing the storage of water in the reservoirs of some of the existing dams.

 In the case of the new dam,proposed at polavaram on godavari,the State Government had to obtain environmental clearence from the Union ministry of environment and forests.For this purpose they have to prepare the dam break analysis,risk assessment and disaster  management  plan and for saving lakhs of people and their properties downstream of the dam a detailed environmental impact assessment and disaster management report has to be submitted for public hearing to receive suggestions for preparing the final cost benefit report and for securing the environmental clearence.

 In the case of polavaram dam the State Government incurred huge expenditure to get a dam break analysis report prepared by the National Institute of water Hydrology at Roorkee.This institute works under the authority  of the Union ministry of water resouses and they have estimated that the  hypothitical  polavaram dam break flood attains a peak value of  1.5 lakhs cu.m/sec(CUMECS) (55 lakh cu.ft/sec,CUSECS) in 30 minutes at polavaram dam site andthe floods get reduced to about  1.4 lakh CUSECS (50 lakh CUSECS) in 10 hours at Rajahmundry ,30 kms  downstreamof the dam.They have prepared tables and maps that would indicate inundation  of lands for 267 sq.kmon the left and 195 sq.km on the right banks  of the Godavari. Under extreme conditions peak flood will be 100 lakh CUSECS at polavaram with a flood elevation of 52 meters and in the Rajahmundry-kovvuru  region the peak floods are