Final reports are still awaited but if the recommendations of the Water and Power Consultancy Services(WAPCOS) study is implemented, the cost of capital dredging initiatives that have run into around Rs 936 crore over the years for the Haldia channel can come down significantly. Besides, the channel depth can be maintained at healthy levels at six to eight meters.
Recent satellite pictures have indicated the existence of a channel. WAPCOS along with Pune-based consultancy firm, Central Water & Power Research Station (CWPRS), has taken up a detailed study of this new alignment since last year. "We are working on a mathematical model that will indicate the depths at different points along the channel and the tangible hydraulic impacts if it is activated. It is estimated to be around 150 kilometer long", said A V Kulkarni, general manager, South of WAPCOS, who is currently working on the project. He informed that the study would take some more months and a detailed final report could be expected around November.
"As this new channel is a natural formation, the chances of it being stable are more. It is more in line with the natural forces", said A K Chanda, chairman, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT). A section of port officers close to the development informed that to activate this new channel a minimum of three million cubic meters of river bed material was required to be lifted from Jiggerkhali flat of the Haldia channel in the right bank. "If this new channel is re-established following the WAPCOS recommendation the need for capital dredging can be greatly reduced.
Even maintenance dredging costs can come down as the natural current will wash away silt from the channel", claimed R K Burman, secretary of the Haldia Dock Officers' Forum (HDOF).
Most of the components of the capital dredging initiative at the Balari bar taken up in the 1980's were not implemented apart from some like building the Northern and the Southern Guide Walls, resulting in a reducing draft over the years. The cost of this initiative under the River Regulatory Measures in the Hooghly Estuary had shot up to Rs 936 crore now.
Officials in the port's hydraulic department pointed out that dredging of the upper part of this newly formed channel that is caressing the right bank of Haldia will assist nature to push flood into this channel by increasing the cubic capacity of this area.
The senior official who did not want to identified, however, also indicated that opening up of the channel did not necessarily mean that capital dredging plans could be dropped altogether.
"We are expecting an interim report in July and a final one by November after which a decision will be taken", he added. The draft in the Haldia channel is 7.7 meters now, up by 0.1 meter compared to the same month last year with a depth varying between 4.5 to 4.6 meters.