NTPC is yet to make an assessment of the damage caused by the Feb 7 deluge to its 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project. After his recent visit to Tapovan, Power Minister R.K Singh had earlier put an estimated loss of Rs 1,500 crore for the project which was nearing its completion when the disaster struck. “At the moment our focus is entirely on the rescue operation. We will make an assessment of the damages at a later stage,” said R.P. Ahirwal, General Manager of the NTPC Tapovan Project. The project was slated to be commissioned in 2023. After the deluge, the fate of the project hangs in balance.
It is not the first time that NTPC has suffered big losses in the hydropower sector in the hill state. In 2009, the centre had scrapped its 600 Mw Loharinagpala project on environmental and religious grounds related to the holy river Bhagirathi after late IIT Kanpur Prof G D Agarwal had staged fast unto death. NTPC had invested around Rs 650 crore in the project when it was stopped. NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad project had suffered considerable damage as the heavy floods coupled with entire debris of the 13.2 MW Rishiganga project, which was the first to be destroyed in the upstream, rammed into it blocking the entire intake adit tunnel. “There are damages. We can only say this,” said Ahirwal.
At present, NTPC is focusing on the rescue operation. So far, the mucking in intake adit tunnel has reached 160 meters, Ahirwal said. “We have also dug a hole for going vertically down which is as big as 300 mm in diameter and 12 meter deep. We are in touch with top scientists to take help and suggest measures. The water level in the bore hole is under observation,” Ahirwal said.
Ahirwal said more than 325 personnel including engineers, officers, geologists, scientists, security officials from NTPC, THDC, CISF and other associates are at the site and constantly engaged in rescue operations. There is also continuous support from the district administration and organisations such as ITBP, BRO, NDRF, SDRF, Army, state PWD, SJVN and RVNL. As the Tapovan project faces an uncertain future, environmentalists such as Suresh Bhai have called for a review of the NTPC project on environmental grounds.
