Pune: With Bhatghar Dam in the Bhor Taluka reaching 98% of its water storage capacity, the Water Resources Department conducted a test of its 45 automatic gates.

The test was supervised by Pune Irrigation Department's Executive Engineer Digambar Dubal.

The siren was sounded at 10:45 AM on Friday (August 2), marking the commencement of the test. Within a few minutes, all 45 automatic gates were opened, releasing water at a rate of 18,500 cusecs.

Bhatghar Dam has 81 gates in total, with 45 of them being automatic. These automatic gates open automatically when the water storage reaches 100% and close when the water level decreases.

Two days earlier, the hydroelectric power plant at the dam began releasing 1,750 cusecs of water into the Nira River. After the test of the automatic gates, the gates were closed again after 15 minutes.

Before the test, a water worship ceremony was performed by Executive Engineer Digambar Dubal. Other officials present included Deputy Engineer Yogesh Bhandalkar of the Nira Irrigation Department, Bhatghar Branch Engineer Ganesh Tengale, and Nana Kamble.

As of Friday (August 2) afternoon, Bhatghar Dam, with a capacity of 23.74 TMC, had 98.93% water storage. Simultaneously, the Nira-Deoghar Dam's hydroelectric plant and spillway were releasing 3,403 cusecs of water.

Due to the significant water release from both dams, the administration has issued a warning to the villages along the Nira River to remain vigilant.

This year, the highest rainfall in the Nira-Deoghar Dam catchment area was recorded at Shirgaon with 3,406 mm, and in the Bhatghar Dam catchment area, Bhutonde received 3,324 mm of rainfall, while Pangari recorded 2,948 mm.

Last year, Bhatghar Dam reached full capacity on September 20, but this year, due to higher rainfall, the dam reached 99% capacity by August 2, 50 days earlier than last year. This early filling of the dam will help resolve the summer water shortage for residents in the eastern command area of Bhatghar Dam.