Nathpa flooding: govt orders inquiry
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 11
Exactly a week after the underground power house of
the 1500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project was submerged due to
bursting of labyrinth pipe the Government of India has
ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The inquiry will be conducted by a five-member
committee of experts headed by the Chairman of the
Central Electricity Authority. The committee will
ascertain the causes responsible for the bursting of
the pipe of the fourth generating unit, which led to
backflow of water from tail pool into the power house
on September 4. It will also pinpoint lapses, if any,
and suggest corrective measures. The committee has
been asked to submit its report within a month.

Mr D.N. Padhy, Special Secretary, Union Ministry of
Power, who has been camping at Jhakri for the past
three days, held detailed talks with the management of
the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam. He underlined the need to
bring the project back on the rails and resuming
generation at the earliest.

However, sources in the nigam said that the project
could remain shut down for the next two months. The
power house was still under 13 m of water and so far
even the extent of damage to machinery could not be
ascertained. The exact position would be known only
after dewatering of the power house. The power supply
unit, the battery unit and the control panel would
have to be put in place again. The damaged labyrinth
pipe and other damaged parts of turbines would also
have to be replaced. All this would require time.

The loss on account of loss of generation during the
current financial year had touched Rs 450 crore till
yesterday. As things stand at the moment, the project
may not achieve even 50 per cent of the annual target
of generating 6,950 million units and the total loss
could touch Rs 800 crore.

Meanwhile, the dewatering gained some momentum with
the nigam pressing seven pumps, four in the tail pool
and three inside the power house, to speed up
operation. Water was being pumped out at 250 litres
per second and more pumps were being deployed to
achieve a pumping rate of 500 litres per second to
complete the dewatering in the next six days.

The nigam is in touch with Bharat Heavy Electrical
Limited (BHEL), which supplied the generating units,
so that repairs could be undertaken as soon as water
is pumped out. Any delay could lead to rusting of
machinery and it could be rendered irreparable.



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