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Madhya Pradesh dam breach: Situation at 'under control now,' says CM
On Thursday, leakage was reported from the dam, being constructed about 35 km from the district headquarters, following which a flood alert was sounded downstream of the reservoir.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said the situation in Dhar district, where a breach was reported in a wall of the reservoir, is under control now. He also said about a bypass channel being created, which will help enable the discharge of water to reduce the pressure on the reservoir walls.
On Thursday, leakage was reported from the dam, being constructed about 35 km from the district headquarters, following which a flood alert was sounded downstream of the reservoir.
"The whole team is keeping an eye on the Dhar dam. Preparations are on to ensure the safety of the public," the chief minister added.
Here are the latest developments:
> On Sunday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed two medium-lift helicopters to Indore following a request by the state government for humanitarian assistance disaster relief (HADR) near the Karam River dam.
> The IAF is working with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the state government for any operations that have to be undertaken, it said in a statement.
> Around 200 army personnel, including engineers, and three teams of the NDRF from Bhopal and Gujarat's Vadodara Surat are at Dhar. Besides them, eight groups of the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) are also at Dhar to bring the situation under control.
> The water started releasing safely through the channel at 3 am on Sunday, news agency PTI reported citing local officials. A pause in rains in Dhar since Friday has also stopped water from accumulating further in the reservoir.
> According to the report, almost 18 villages downstream would have submerged had the dam burst.
> As a precautionary measure, people from 12 villages in Dhar district and six villages in Khargone district have been shifted to safer places.
> State water resources minister Tulsi Silawat and industries minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon had gone to the dam site to take stock of the situation.
> The dam is coming up at a cost of ₹304 crore, of which ₹174 crore has been spent so far.
(With agency inputs)
