The Hindu : Other States / Himachal Pradesh News : Nathpa project resumes production

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Monday, Aug 09, 2004

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Other States - Himachal Pradesh

Nathpa project resumes production

By Kanwar Yogendra

SHIMLA, AUG 8. The prestigious 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Power Project resumed production this afternoon after a closure of around 54 hours. The six turbines of the project, each with 250 MW capacity, generate electricity worth Rs 8 crores per day. The first unit restarted at 2.15 p.m. and second unit at 3.10 p.m., informed Mr. V.K.Verma, Senior Manager of the project. The rest would follow suit, he added.

The project engineers, talking to The Hindu from Jhakri, said the flow of water has come down from 1000 cusecs yesterday to 650 cusecs and the silt level has come below the permissible limit of 5000 ppm (parts per million). The engineers have constructed a 3-meter concrete wall outside the gates of powerhouse, they said. The powerhouse is 40 meters from the ground level and there are remote chances of water reaching at that level, they added.

Some of the project engineers were surprised that the people in Delhi reacted in panic. There was no need to shut down the project because of the lake formation in Tibet. The distance of project was 200 kms from the lake and there could be sufficient time for sealing the project, they said. The project can only be closed in case the silt level increases, they added.

The Sutlej Jal Vikas Nigam management claimed that they were well prepared to save the project from any eventuality. In the event of a blast in the lake, the water would take three hours to reach the project and by then the necessary measures can be easily taken. The gates of the dam can be opened and the intake gates along with the silt flushing tunnels can be closed. The TRT (tale race tunnel) outfall would be closed and the project can be easily sealed, so there is no need of a panic, claimed the management.

On the other hand, the much awaited site visit by the high-power committee did not take place even today. Some last minute clearances could not be obtained from the Centre and no expert geologist could be arranged for visiting the site, sources said.

The latest satellite pictures are showing a much less quantum of water gathered in the artificial lake as compared to the information earlier released by the Chinese authorities. The aerial racee planned by the Indian team would not be able to give a true picture but an actual landing at the site is required, said a project engineer.

Meanwhile, the Himachal Electricity Board has decided not to shut its two projects operating from the banks of Sutlej. They are 126 MW Bhabha project and 22 MW Ghanvi project. "We can handle the crisis", claimed a spokesman.

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