NHPC project test floods village

The 280-MW Dhauliganga hydro project of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has run into rough weather following trouble in its underground shaft tunnel.

The trouble began when NHPC authorities released water inside the 5.5-km-long underground shaft tunnel to test the turbine last month at the dam site situated in Pithoragarh.

Within minutes of the trial run, Ailagarh, situated at the higher reaches of the Rs 1,578 crore project, got flooded, creating panic in the area apparently due to an excessive release of water through the shaft holes.

When contacted, Pithoragarh District Magistrate Amit Negi confirmed the incident and said nearly 24 families were being shifted to nearby areas.

Following the cracks that appeared in the village, an expert team of the NHPC has arrived for the treatment, which is going on. "We are hopeful of rectifying the faults very soon," said Negi.

Built at Rs 1,500 crore, the Dhauliganga project was ready for commissioning on March 31 this year but due to some technical reasons, the ceremony had been postponed several times, officials said, adding the whole Ailgarh village had been declared as danger zone.

Though NHPC authorities are claiming that the dam would be ready for commissioning next month, the state government officials remained skeptical in this regard.

"We cannot take chance with the lives of villagers. We have instructed NHPC to make sure that no such leaks occur in near future," a top official said.

There has been no damage to the dam due to the excessive leakage of water from shaft holes, officials said adding a date regarding the commission of the dam would be announced very soon.

The power generated from the project, would be supplied to Uttaranchal, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi. Besides its normal share of power, Uttaranchal would also be entitled to 12-per cent free power from the project.

The project is a run-of-the-river scheme on the Dhauliganga River, a tributary of the Kali on the Indo-Nepal border.

Generation from the project, however, depends on the completion of a 300-km 220-kV double circuit transmission line from the project site to Bareilly, which is being set up by Power Grid Corporation Ltd.