Sambalpur: The Hirakud Dam authorities at Burla here in this district are worried about the receding water level in the reservoir after the Chhattisgarh government closed most of the gates of the barrages on the upstream of the Mahanadi, reports said.
“Eighteen of 45 gates of the Kalama Barrage have been closed. Similarly, only six of the 81 gates of the Miroli Barrage and eight gates of Basantpur Barrage are open. 45 gates of the Simoda Barrage have also been closed, leading to a drop in flow to the Hirakud Dam,” Chief Engineer Jyotirmay Rath said, adding that this will not only affect power generation, but will also aggravate irrigation problems.
All the gates were found open during a tour by a team of officials of the Odisha Water Resources Department earlier, but the sudden closure without notice has created outrage.
Official sources said nearly 39,000 cusecs of water was entering the Hirakud Dam this time last year. However, the reservoir is receiving only 12,000 cusecs now, while the outflow is 16,000 cusecs.
“If the situation continues, the reservoir will face an acute shortage of water during the non-monsoon season,” Rath added.
This is not the first time that Chhattisgarh has resorted to such an arbitrary move. Earlier, it had released water downstream without informing Odisha following heavy downpour during monsoon. This had triggered a flood-like situation in several parts of Odisha.
“We had earlier asked Chhattisgarh EIC not to close the gates of any barrage, but nothing was done. We will again hold discussions with senior officials in this regard,” Rath added.
The two states are at loggerheads over Mahanadi water and the matter is before the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal. Though the tribunal’s first hearing was scheduled for September 29, it was postponed to the second week of October.
PNN
