The operational capability of the spillway, which is equipped with installations that can withstand 50 lakh cusecs of inflow, has proved to be a success as it is put to use to tackle the flash floods in the Godavari at the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the Godavari river flood history, an inflow of 15 lakh cusecs has never been reported downstream of Bhadrachalam in the month of July since the 1920s.
“The 48 hydraulic gates of the spillway have been put in operation to tackle the ongoing floods in the Godavari. This is the first flood in which the entire spillway is commissioned and tested successfully by discharging 15 lakh cusecs of flood water without reporting any technical glitch,” Chief General Manager (MEIL-Polavaram project) M. Muddukrishna told The Hindu.
