Taking note of the massive siltation and other related issues in the Hirakud Dam reservoir in Sambalpur district where cracks have appeared due to lack of proper maintenance, the dam authorities have planned to construct more spillways for release of increased amounts of floodwaters to ensure the dam’s longevity.
“The decision for construction of more spillways has been taken after the recent visit of a high-powered team of the Central Water Commission (CWC). While the budget estimate for the survey work of the spillways has almost been finalised, the construction work of the spillways would begin from the current fiscal, according to the dam’s Executive Engineer Yashowant Parida.
The tender process for construction of additional spillways would begin in a few months, he added. It may be noted that the cracks and holes near the spillways of the main dam were noticed during an underwater survey of the dam in 2002-03. The dam authorities had later carried out repair of some of the cracks. While the dam earlier had the provision of a gross discharge of 15 lakh cusecs of water from the spillways in 1957, considering the present situation and future of the dam, provisions for release of 24 lakh cusecs of water has been planned, sources said.