The Work on the Vented Dam at Ankudru Begins.....

Report by Dr Eugene Moodubelle
BelleVision Media Network

Moodubelle, 23 March 2010: The work on the long awaited vented dam cum bridge on the Belle River at Ankudru has started in right earnest beginning with the site clearance task that has been going on since the last week of February 2010.

The foundation stone for the vented dam was laid by Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha Constituency on Saturday, 6th February 2010. The dam would be built under the auspices of the Karnataka Government’s Minor Irrigation Department, Mangalore Division. The estimated cost of the vented dam is Rs.81 lakhs. The dam would be 42 metres long and 3.50 metres in height. It will be 2.40 metres wide on the top so that small vehicles such as cars and rickshaws can pass over it.  There will be 17 vents each with a width of 2 metres. Once completed, the dam will have a holding capacity of over one million cubic metres of water that can be used to irrigate over 200 acres of land in Belle, Kattingeri and Shirva villages.

The construction of the vented dam across the river is a laborious task. First of all the water from the site of the dam has to be emptied and the base has to be made dry in order to start the construction work. With this view the both sides of the proposed site of the dam were blocked by dumping soil across the river that prevented the flow of water. This work started from 26th February 2010. The water from the blocked portion was emptied by using one powerful pump of 90 HP and two smaller pumps for three days from 11th March 2010. It is said that a number of people took advantage of this operation to catch fish as the level of water dipped at the site of the dam.

As the river bed became dry a new problem cropped up in the form of a huge rock projecting from the river bed which has to be broken and cleared for laying the foundation of the dam. However, the broken rock pieces would be used for constructing the support walls on both sides of the dam.

According to Mr. Gerald Fernandes, who has been taking great interest in the construction of this dam, the actual construction of the vented dam after the clearance of the site is expected to be started from 21st March 2010. The Engineer of the project, Mr. Jagdish has predicted that the work of the dam would be completed by the end of April 2010 and the contractor of the dam, Mr. Vijayananda Shetty has also promised to complete the work by the first week of May 2010. If this project is completed within this stipulated time-frame, it will be a great achievement which would prove that even a government project can be completed within a specific period if there is will and proper supervision.

Mr. Gerald Fernandes said that on the Moodubelle side of the river, the Nayak family close to the dam site had fully cooperated with the project by surrendering considerable land for the approach road as well as for the construction of the dam. However, on the Pamboor side there are some families who are yet to consider the proposal to give away certain part of their land for the approach road. Mr. Gerald Fernandes hopes that these families will be magnanimous and cooperate with the project in the public interest.