The breach in the dam was reported on Thursday
Villagers who were shifted to shelter camps in Madhya Pradesh following a dam collapse warning, returned to their homes after the water was released through a channel on Sunday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today congratulated the officials and workers who averted a disaster after the breach was reported in an under-construction dam in Dhar's Dhanmod.
The Chief Minister announced a reward of Rs two lakh each for drivers of the earth-moving machines who dug up a channel for the release of water from the dam reservoir.
"Crisis is over for all 18 villages now. Successful handling of situation arisen out of leakage in Karam Dam is an excellent example of splendid disaster management," Mr Chouhan said.
Engineering and hydrology experts were deployed - besides the National Disaster Response Force and Army personnel - to save the dam from crumbling under the pressure of 15 million cubic meters (MCM) water, which roughly translates to 15 billion litres.
The breach in the Karam dam was reported on Thursday, after which an alert was sounded as 18 villages in the adjoining districts of Dhar and Khargone were in danger of getting inundated.
The dam, 590 metres wide and 52 metres high, is being constructed for the past four years, at an estimated cost of Rs 304 crore. The dam, when finished, is meant to help farm irrigation of around 10,500 hectares in 52 villages.