Quick answer: The Prakasam Barrage is a barrage and road bridge across the Krishna river at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. After Cyclone Murasu crossed the coast near Ongole on 3 November 2026, Water Resources Department officials opened all 70 of its gates. They did this to release surplus floodwater towards the Bay of Bengal and protect Vijayawada from flooding.
Why the Prakasam Barrage is in the news
According to The Hans India, officials of the state Water Resources Department began releasing surplus water from the barrage at about 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. They did so because of the heavy rain brought by Cyclone Murasu and the forecast of more. The 6 a.m. bulletin on Wednesday, 4 November showed an inflow of 60,875 cusecs, and all of it was being let out downstream. The pond level was held at 12 feet. Fifteen gates were raised by two feet and the other 55 by one foot, which means all 70 gates were open.
All canals off the barrage were closed during the release, including the Krishna Eastern, Krishna Western and Guntur canals. Most of the water was coming from local catchments in NTR district, through the Keesara, Munneru and Budameru streams. An IANS report on 5 November said inflow and outflow had fallen to about 43,500 cusecs, with 60 of the 70 gates open.
About Cyclone Murasu
- Landfall: The India Meteorological Department said the severe cyclonic storm crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narasapur, close to Ongole in Prakasam district. It came ashore between 3.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. on 3 November 2026.
- Winds: sustained winds were 100–110 kmph, with gusts up to 120 kmph.
- Name: India proposed the name “Murasu”. It is the Tamil word for a traditional drum. Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are named by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC), New Delhi, which is part of the IMD.
- Second cyclone in a week: Murasu arrived soon after Cyclone Arnab, which hit the same coast in late October and killed six people, Al Jazeera reported.
- Damage: A preliminary assessment reported by IANS on 5 November put the toll at eight deaths and the estimated loss to Andhra Pradesh at about ₹1,918.55 crore. Crops on more than 1.43 lakh hectares were damaged. Thirteen NDRF and 11 SDRF teams took part in relief and rescue work.
Key facts about the Prakasam Barrage
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| River | Krishna |
| Location | Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh; it connects the Vijayawada and Guntur sides of the river |
| Length | About 1,223.5 metres |
| Gates | 70 (as reported during the November 2026 releases) |
| Earlier structure | Anicut across the Krishna built between 1852 and 1855, approved after Major (later Sir) Arthur Cotton’s recommendation |
| Present barrage | Completed in 1957 |
| Named after | Tanguturi Prakasam, first Chief Minister of Andhra State (formed 1953) |
| Upstream project | Vykuntapuram Barrage, about 25 km upstream (foundation stone laid in 2019) |
- Three canals run from the barrage through Vijayawada city. The barrage also feeds the Buckingham Canal, which was first built for inland navigation and was later used for irrigation.
- The highest flood flow on record at the barrage, about 31,000 cubic metres per second, came on 5 October 2009.
The Krishna river: static GK
The Krishna rises in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and flows east into the Bay of Bengal. It is about 1,400 km long and passes through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is the third-longest river in India, after the Ganga and the Godavari. The Bhima is its longest tributary. Other major tributaries include the Tungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Musi. The Munneru, which fed this week’s inflows, is a left-bank tributary. Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala are the major reservoirs upstream of the Prakasam Barrage.
Exam angle: how NDA, CDS and CAPF can ask this
- Questions on matching dams and barrages to rivers are common in NDA and CDS geography. Remember that the Prakasam Barrage is on the Krishna, along with the Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala reservoirs upstream.
- Questions on the Krishna’s source, its tributaries and the states it flows through come up often.
- Cyclone naming is a favourite topic in current affairs, including which body names North Indian Ocean cyclones and which country proposed a name. So are cyclone categories, such as cyclonic storm and severe cyclonic storm.
Practice MCQs
Q1. The Prakasam Barrage is built across which river?
(a) Godavari (b) Krishna (c) Penna (d) Tungabhadra
Answer: (b) — It spans the Krishna at Vijayawada.
Q2. Near which town did Cyclone Murasu cross the Andhra Pradesh coast on 3 November 2026?
(a) Kakinada (b) Visakhapatnam (c) Ongole (d) Machilipatnam
Answer: (c) — It crossed close to Ongole, between Nellore and Narasapur.
Q3. The Prakasam Barrage is named after:
(a) The first Chief Minister of Andhra State (b) A British engineer (c) A Governor of Madras (d) A freedom fighter from Telangana
Answer: (a) — Tanguturi Prakasam was Andhra State’s first Chief Minister.
Q4. Which is the longest tributary of the Krishna?
(a) Tungabhadra (b) Musi (c) Bhima (d) Malaprabha
Answer: (c) — The Bhima is about 861 km long.
Frequently asked questions
Why were all 70 gates of the Prakasam Barrage opened?
Officials opened them as a precaution because Cyclone Murasu had brought very heavy rainfall. Releasing the surplus inflow downstream kept the barrage level safe and lowered the risk of flooding in Vijayawada.
What does the name Murasu mean?
Murasu is the Tamil word for a traditional drum. India proposed the name for the list of North Indian Ocean cyclone names.
Where and when did Cyclone Murasu make landfall?
It crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Ongole, between Nellore and Narasapur, between 3.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. on 3 November 2026. It was a severe cyclonic storm at the time.
Which streams fed the inflow into the barrage?
Officials said most of the inflow came from local catchments in NTR district through the Keesara, Munneru and Budameru streams.
Also read on NCA: Operation Sagar Bandhu and cyclone relief | NDMA and the Disaster Management Act | Monthly defence current affairs PDFs | NDA coaching in Chandigarh
Sources: The Hans India, IANS via Vividh Bharathi, DT Next (PTI), Chronicle India, Al Jazeera, Wikipedia: Prakasam Barrage, Wikipedia: Krishna River, The News Minute (upstream reservoirs, earlier flood). Facts as reported up to 6 November 2026.
Featured image background: Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
