Krishnagiri dam nearing full capacity; flood alert issued for five districts

KRISHNAGIRI: A flood alert was issued for five districts in Tamil Nadu -- Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore -- on Thursday after the KRP (Krishnagiri Reservoir Project) dam almost reached its full capacity of 52 feet.
Public works department (PWD) officials said the water level in the dam stood at 51.20 feet on Thursday against its capacity of 52 feet. Inflow was measured at 400 cusecs while the discharge was maintained at 559 cusecs.
Krishnagiri district collector V Jaya Chandra Bhanu Reddy stated that the flood alert would be applicable throughout the Thenpennai river pathways starting from the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border to Cuddalore district, where the river merged with the Bay of Bengal.
“People living closer to the river banks have to move to the safer places,” the collector said. He said officials in the concerned districts had issued warnings to people and advised them not to enter the river for bathing and fishing.