Bisalpur dam gates opened after water levels reach capacity

Bhilwara/Jaipur: Water levels in the Bisalpur Dam, a major source of drinking water for Jaipur, Ajmer and Tonk, crossed 315.5 meters for the first time this year, prompting the administration to open the dam's sluice gate no 10 at 4.55 pm Thursday to release 6,000 cusecs of excess water. This is only the first time since Bisalpur dam was built over two decades also that the flood gates have been opened in July. Bisalpur getting filled to capacity is expected to fulfil drinking water needs of Tonk, Ajmer and Jaipur districts for at least 18 months. This is the second consecutive year when the dam has fill up fully. Last year, sluice gates of the Bisalpur dam were thrown open in Sept. The gates were opened mid Vedic rituals with Tonk district collector Kalpana Agarwal, SP Rajesh Meena, and MLA Rajendra Gurjar in attendance. The dam administration sounded a siren at 12 noon before opening the gates. "Our teams are monitoring the situation, if needed more gates will be opened," Manish Bansal, executive engineer, Bisalpur dam told TOI. He also said good monsoon rains in Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Rajsamand and Bhilwara districts led the Triveni River, which feeds Bisalpur, to fill up for the first time in July. "Since it's construction, the Bisalpur dam gates were opened six times in August and once in Sept. The dam crossed its full capacity for the first time in July," Bansal added. Meanwhile, Triveni River continued to flow at a gauge of 2.9 meters on Thursday evening.Since its completion in 2003, Bisalpur was first filled in 2004. Over the past 21 years, water has been released 15 times to the right and left canals for farmers in Tonk, irrigating 80,000 hectares of land. This has made Tonk the second-largest mustard producer in Rajasthan.