Breach in 40-year-old dam in Palghar, NDRF set to evacuate 5 villages

Mumbai A massive three-metre breach was reported in a 40-year-old earthen dam with a 260 crore litre capacity at Zanzorli in Palghar on Saturday morning. As a result, around 1,200 litre per minute was discharged downstream.

Due to the breach, five villages namely Zanzorli, Bandate, Dondhalpada, Patharipada and Navinpada, were to be evacuated. An NDRF team from Andheri, comprising of 47 jawans with Flood Water Rescue (FWR) arrived in Kelwe to evacuate the villagers if the need arises, said Ashish Kumar, deputy commandant, NDRF who reached the spot.

“We were called by the Palghar collector Dr Manik Gursal and if needed, we will call motorboats and other equipment in case we need to evacuate the villagers to a higher place to avoid flooding,” said the official.

The dam will be repaired by placing sand and other materials where the breach has been found to control the seepage, informed Prabhakar Giri, deputy engineer, Irrigation Department Palghar. He added that the dam supplied water to 17 gram panchayats.

Fortunately, the monsoon season is over or else there were chances of a dam burst due to the leakage, said Giri.

“We first noticed a minor leakage in the dam during the pre-monsoon period and the leakage increased during the monsoon in July,” said Giri. he added that they informed the Dam Safety Organisation (DSO) Nashik of the Irrigation Department and the diver went underwater to videograph the situation. They said they wanted the monsoon to be over to start the repairs of the dam, but noticed the breach on Saturday.

“We will cover the breach with around 300-400 dumpers full of sand and other materials. Right now, there is no need for evacuation,” Giri said.

Around 100 policemen and 30 jawans from the Riot Control Police are at the spot and villagers are on alert.