Major mishap averted at Sangam Barrage in Nellore

A major accident was averted at the Sangam Barrage across Penna river in SPSR Nellore district in the wee hours of Thursday (October 30). Three boats used for sand collection were swept away by heavy currents following the rains during Cyclone Montha and were seen moving towards the barrage. However, the district administration, with collective efforts, brought the 35-tonne boat to the shores preventing it from ramming into the anicut, thus preventing a major disaster.

According to the sources, the water level at the dam reached 11 feet at 3 a.m. on Wednesday due to a sudden increase in the flow of water from the Biraperu and Boggeru streams. The ropes of the three boats tied to the bridge railing snapped due to the rising floodwaters. With this, the freed boats quickly moved towards the barrage.

One of the three boats reached the sand jetty area and got stuck, while another reached the Kanigiri Reservoir area. The third boat was stuck at the crest of the old dam, about 400 metres upstream of the barrage. The teams of 30 NDRF members, 30 SDRF members, 100 police personnel, Krishnapatnam Port Patrol staff, Fire and Irrigation officials manged to bring the 35-tonne boat to the shores on Thursday morning.

District Collector Himanshu Shukla, Superintendent of Police Ajitha Vejendla and other officials reached the spot and monitored the situation. The NDRF swimmers and other team members worked for about 12 hours to pull the boat out. The other two boats also were towed down to the shores by the rescue team. If the teams couldn’t control the boats that were swept away, there would have been massive destruction to the barrage and the low-lying areas would have been inundated.

The Sangam Barrage was built with 85 gates and it is irrigating 3.85 lakh acres of fallow land in the district. If it was damaged, the water would have been wasted and farmers would have suffered losses in the coming season. As it serves as a bridge for the villages of Podalakur and Sangam, the traffic between these villages would have also disrupted if it was damaged, said the officials.