Gujarat: Ukai dam releases 1.88 lakh cusec water after increased inflow from upper catchment areas

The district collectors of Tapi and Surat have alerted citizens about the situation but asked them not to panic. The residents have also been told to not go near the river.

Surat district collector Ayush Oak said, “We have closed Dumas beach, Suvali beach and weir-cum-causeway to the public. A high tide is expected Tuesday afternoon, so the beaches have been closed. There is nothing to worry about the rise in the water level in the river.”

Ukai dam superintendent engineer HR Mahakaal said, “Due to the heavy inflow of water from Madhya Pradesh, we have started discharging water in huge quantities. We are also using the water for power production… We have discharged a high volume of water as we are expecting an inflow of over 3 lakh cusec water from upper catchment areas of the dam Tuesday evening. If 3.50 lakh cusec or 4 lakh cusec of water is discharged from the dam, the water will start entering Surat city.”

The Ukai dam has a gross storage capacity of 5,338.30 million cubic metre, while the live storage is 4,653.91 million cubic metre Tuesday. About 80 per cent of the catchment area of the dam lies in Maharashtra, 17 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and only 3 per cent in Gujarat.

On Tuesday, several people flocked to bridges on Tapi to take selfies and videos of the swollen river. Grocery stores reported brisk business as residents wanted to stock up on essential items.