Water is flowing out at some spots located on the left side of the dam’s wall due to technical faults. The department has initiated a plan to stop the leakage but actual work is unlikely to begin before February 2016.
The irrigation department has been struggling to stop the seepage. Sources in the department said there was no threat to the dam’s wall or its foundation because of the leakages.
The dam is among the four that supply water to the city which is facing shortage after a deficient monsoon. The saving grace is that the leaking water is not being wasted as it is flowing into the Mutha river and further on to the Khadakwasla dam which provides drinking water to the city .
Located about 35km from here, Temghar is the newest among the four dams with a total storage capacity of 3.71 TMC. The dam at present has 1.10 TMC stock (29% of its capacity). People who pass along the nearby road said water has been seeping from the dam’s wall since last year and it is necessary to repair it considering the shortage of water.
The irrigation department has been working on the problem since last year. In 2014, it had carried out repair works that had brought down seepage to some extent but it never stopped completely .
The state government had appointed a committee to look into the issue and had told it to recommend a plan to deal with the seepage. The committee’s work is in the final stages and the report is expected to be submitted to the government by next month. A senior official in the department told TOI, “We are on the right track. If things go as per plan, the actual repair work will begin in February .It will be carried out in two stages. The estimated cost of the work will be around Rs 50 crore. Till then seepage will continue as it is difficult to stop it completely in the current situation.“
The official said the sixmember committee which was constituted in September 2014 had told various government departments to find out reasons for the seepage and its technical reasons. The committee has received reports from the departments on the basis of which the committee will prepare a comprehensive report and will submit it to the government, the official said.
The work orders will be issued after the government’s nod. Meanwhile, technical experts have said that lack of proper maintenance during construction of the dam could have led to the seepage.
Source : TOI
