JAMMU: The diversion tunnel of the 450 MW Baglihar dam has been blocked again, causing flooding in the nearby belt and delaying the construction of the hydro-power project

This is the second time in 45 days that the tunnel has got blocked.

Officials said the construction at Chanderkote was affected following a landslip.

A portion of a nearby hill collapsed, causing an overflow at the dam, though the river is below the danger mark. State Power Minister Mohammad Sharif Niaz, who inspected the site, said the erosion of one lakh cubic metres of a hill, had led to the blocking of diversion tunnel-I at the dam site at the Baglihar project. Repair work was under way.

He said the situation was under control as the water level was very low.

In the second week of July the level in the reservoir rose to 766 metres. The tunnel was blocked with silt and 150-200 metres of the 550-metre diversion tunnel was washed away.

The completion of the dam is behind schedule.

The first phase was to be completed by 2004; the revised date is January 2006.

The two-phase 450-MW Baglihar project was started in June 1999. This is the only mega-hydel project of the State Government. Most of the electro-mechanical work has been completed.

The project envisages a total cost of Rs. 4,000 crores of which Rs. 2,700 crores has been incurred. About 7,000 people are working on the project, which includes about 4000 from Jammu and Kashmir.

Shut down

PTI reports from Shimla:

The 1500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri hydro-power project in Himachal Pradesh was shut down again on Tuesday due to high levels of silt and coarse content deposited by the Sutlej river. The project has been functioning on and off since June.

The silt level has risen to 7,800 particle per million (ppm) while the coarse content was over 2000 ppm, Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) chairman H.K. Sharma said.

The maximum permissive limit for coarse content was 800 ppm and it was not advisable to run the plant. The high silt and coarse content could damage the plant and the turbine, he said.

The shutting down of the project due to silt deposits has been causing huge losses to SJVN. It has lost revenue of over Rs. 130 crores due to closure or under-utilisation of the plant and machinery over the last two and a half months, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail