Industrial and power production have been affected adversely due to heavy floods in major rivers in Uttarakhand during the past two days.
With major rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna in spate, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), the biggest power generating company in the hill state, has closed most of its hydel projects, which has affected 90 per cent of its power production.
“As a precautionary measure, we have shut down all of our hydel projects except Kulhal,” said UJVNL Managing Director R P Thapliyal. Kulhal, which is located on the river Asan, is currently producing 24 Mw of power.
UJVNL, with an installed capacity of 1305 Mw, was generating nearly 850 to 900 Mw of power till Saturday. However, with the water level rising menacingly in the rivers, the UJVNL was forced to shut down its power projects.
The power projects which are under construction also bore the brunt of the heavy rains and landslides. The construction work in several under construction projects like 400 Mw Koteshwar have come to a standstill.
An official of Bajaj Auto, which has its production facility at Pantnagar, told Business Standard that the production as well as dispatches have been affected due to floods on the national highway near Moradabad. “We think that there is a loss of 25 per cent in production as well as dispatches,” the official said.
Similarly, other companies in Pantnagar, where top-notch companies like Nestle and Tata Motors have facilities, also reported 20 to 30 per cent loss in production and dispatches. The availability of raw material is also being hampered at Pantnagar with trucks being stranded at a number of places in Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh.
However, officials here said floods in the Ganga at Haridwar have only marginally affected industrial activities at the industrial estate being run by State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL). “We are keeping a close watch on the situation even as Ganga is flowing 2-3 metres above the danger level at Haridwar,” said the official.