The 109-year-old Bodalkasa dam in Gondia district’s Tirora taluka breached on Monday morning after seepage near its head regulator rapidly widened, prompting authorities to alert 14 downstream villages. Officials said no village or farmland had been submerged and reported no loss of life or property, while water flowed towards a nala and then into a river away from settlements.
The reservoir, part of a medium irrigation project, was around 95% full before the breach and has a capacity of 15.30 million cubic metres. Irrigation officials expect the reservoir to lose nearly two-thirds of its water over the next two to four days, after which repair work can begin.
Chandrakant Dongre, sub-divisional engineer with the irrigation department, said seepage was first noticed near the head regulator, which had been opened to supply water to farmers. “Seepage started at 6.30 am. It instantly took a big form, and the whole section was breached,” he told the Times of India.
District authorities began warning residents in downstream areas after the breach. Gondia Collector Mandar Patki said all 14 villages below the dam had been alerted and asked residents to contact the district control room if water entered a village. The numbers issued for emergency communication are 07182-230196 and 9881064449.
Rajan Chaube, the district disaster management officer, said water was moving from the canal into a nala and then into the river, rather than towards villages and agricultural land. He said the dam was not very large and that there had been no loss of life or property.
Water nevertheless reached Sukdi Chowk, a village market area in Tirora taluka. Officials said the level there was barely ankle-deep. The immediate concern remains the movement of water through local drainage channels and the need to keep downstream communities informed while the reservoir level falls.
The breach also affects the irrigation system serving farmers who depend on the dam’s stored water. Since the head regulator had been opened for agricultural supply when seepage began, the incident has raised an immediate operational question for the irrigation department about the condition of the regulator and the damaged section. Authorities have not yet announced the estimated repair cost or the full extent of structural damage.
Tirora MLA Vijay Rahangdale said he would demand an inquiry into the breach. For now, officials are monitoring the downstream flow, maintaining alerts for the 14 villages and waiting for the reservoir to discharge enough water for repair work to begin.
