Following a letter from the Chief Secretary to the SP, Sambalpur, a high level meeting was held here on the matter of safety of the Hirakud dam.
The dam spreads across a sprawling area of 936 square kilometers and there are two dykes in both right and left sides of the main dam.
The main dam is the most crucial point with sluice gates in Burla and Hirakud ends and also the hydro power generation station (power house) in Burla side.
“The entire security assessment of the Hirakud dam was made by the Home department and informed to the SPs of Sambalpur and Bargarh districts to implement it in their respective areas,” informed Chief Engineer of Hirakud dam project Harmohan Pradhan. The Department of Water Resources (DoWR) was also informed accordingly, Pradhan informed.
On August 12 last, similar meeting was held to discuss different angles of the dam safety including installation of CC TV camera on different points, electronics check gates in all entrance points, deployment of OISF (Odisha Industrial Security Forces) in the dam and dykes, patrolling boats, watch towers and many others. “Discussions were also made to select pin point locations to ensure safety to the dam,” the authority here informed. Police apart, all the senior officials of the dam project, power house including Chief Engineer Pradhan have also given their views on this matter. It has been decided to continue 24- hour patrolling on the dam. It is a matter of great significance that the State Government has been alerted on dam safety matter to which the locals had been demanding since long looking at the incidents of terrorists attack on different crucial places of the country and abroad.