First phase of Tehri to be commissioned in June

First March, then April, and now June. The long wait for water and electricity from the Tehri hydel project is going to be over, hopefully.

With the water level of the dam reservoir reaching the desired height of 740 metres, officers at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) hope to start power production next month.

THDC officials believe the project will start producing nearly 250 Mw around June 15. The melting of glaciers in the Himalayas has caused the water level of the Bhagirathi to rise.

With the mercury soaring high in the northern region, the demand for water and electricity from the multipurpose Tehri Hydel project ahead of its commissioning is gradually growing.

Earlier the repeated postponements of the dam's commissioning due to decrease in the inflow of Bhagirathi river waters had caused concern among Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, which are hoping to fetch the maximum benefit from the project. "We are hopeful that the first phase would be commissioned in the middle of June," said Principal Secretary Power N Ravishanker in the government of Uttaranchal.

Top officials of the THDC, the nodal agency for the implementation of the project, said that the test run of the turbines would be completed by May 20.

The rise in water level has also given a sigh of relief to people in Haridwar. The holy city of Haridwar had been enduring the brunt of the decrease in the flow of Ganga for quite some time now as its tributary Bhagirarthi was blocked at the Tehri dam. This has also adversely affected pilgrim traffic to Haridwar.

The water scarcity has also raised alarm bells in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which is mostly dependent on the Ganga for irrigation purposes. Uttar Pradesh being a major stake holder in the dam wants its needs to be fulfilled first before any water is being given to Delhi and Uttaranchal.

On the other hand, Uttaranchal wants its share of 12 per cent of electricity from the dam as soon as it starts producing power, THDC officials said. Delhi wants water for its Sonia Vihar project as well as electricity as early as possible.

Though no exact date has been fixed for the commissioning of the Asia's highest dam, the project authorities are hopeful that the power plant, which is being built with a whopping cost of Rs 7,000 crore, there may not be another postponement this time.