A plunge pool of the newly-build 800-MW Kol Dam hydro power project in Himachal's Mandi district has been found damaged within just a few months of its operation.
The pool of NTPC's Hydroelectric project has been speciallyconstructedat the bottom ofspillway in the bed of river Sutlej to control thespeed of water at the in the region.
It was observed that within justone month of its operation, both the sides of pool started eroding due to its "poor quality of construction", the project engineers claimed.
Also Read
The Kol Dam project is capable of generating approximately 3,054 GWH annually.
According to sources at Kol Dam, the officials have stopped releasing water since first week of September.
Parveen Bharti, PROof the project, ruled out the "poor quality of construction" andsaid that the damageto the plunge pool was "anticipated".
Meanwhile, other Kol Dam officials claimed that it was not just a case of "poor quality of construction", but "faulty design" is also the reason behind the damage.
The foundation stone of 800 MW Kol Dam, situated on the border of District Mandi and Bilaspur,was laid in 2000.
Vinod Chaudhary,GM of Kol Dam, saidthatsome damage has been causedtoboth ends of plunge pool and estimate was being preparedfor its repairswhich would beexceeding5 crores and the repair would take around four to five months.