# Tungabhadra dam, built with young nation’s hope, faces silt crisis 2026-08-12T21:07:04+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Tungabhadra dam, one of India's largest masonry dams and a post-independence engineering marvel, now faces a severe silt accumulation threat. Built between 1947 and 1952 at a cost of about Rs 35 crore (roughly Rs 7,000 crore today), the dam stretches 6,007 feet and irrigates about 16 lakh acres across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Its 72 MW hydropower capacity can power about eight lakh homes. The dam's construction was a joint venture between the Madras Presidency and Hyderabad princely state, with nearly 30,000 labourers working daily. Women carried 20-pound trays of wet earth on their heads, earning about one rupee a day. But over 73 years, rapid silt buildup now demands modern solutions such as hydraulic dredging and sediment bypass tunnels. Deccan Herald reports that government lethargy and multiple state jurisdictions have delayed a practical solution. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com Tags: Irrigation, Karnataka, Rayalaseema, silt accumulation, Tungabhadra Dam, water sharing Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/tungabhadra-dam-built-with-young-nations-hope-faces-silt-crisis/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/tungabhadra-dam-built-with-young-nations-hope-faces-silt-crisis/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.