Sambalpur: In the absence of adequate rain in the upper catchment areas of the Hirakud Dam, water level in the reservoir has gone down to a record extent.
In such a situation, water supply to Burla and Chipilima power houses has been reduced these days. As a result, power production in one unit of the Chipilima power house has stopped.
According to the Hirakud Dam authorities, Burla and Chipilima power houses were supplied 2,608 and 3,717 cusec of water, respectively Thursday. This has drastically affected the power production as one unit of the Chipilima power house had to be stopped.
It is a given fact that if sufficient water is not supplied to Chipilima power house, power production will be completely stopped. Similarly, power production in Burla power house is also known to have reduced.
The Hirakud dam recorded a water level of just 598.41 feet. It is learnt that 4,559 cusecs of water enter the reservoir while 4,599 cusec of water is released.
The upstream of Hirakud Dam recorded a rainfall of 10.63 mm and downstream recorded 6.23 mm. The dam authorities had written to the Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) July 21 in connection with the declining water level.
It was informed to the OHPC authorities that in the wake of the water crisis, water cannot be supplied to the canals. Meanwhile, the dam authorities have received directives from the state government to reduce the power production.
PNN