lack of rainfall and water flow upstream Mahanadi has failed the Hirakud Dam yet again. And, alike most floods, this drought condition of the reservoir has also been caused by the apathy of the dam authorities.
The way they have shut down the power plant while continuing to supply water to industries is illegal, alleged convenor of Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) Ranjan Panda on Wednesday.
“Hirakud dam was originally constructed for flood control. Irrigation and power generation were incidental benefits. Providing water to industries at the cost of power generation is a clear-cut indication of the Government’s vested tilt towards the industries,” Panda said.
It is to be noted that the dam’s power generation capacity has been drastically reduced by a deliberate design, more so recently because of the favouritism towards industries. And on June 17, when the dam authorities stopped releasing water for power generation, illegally, they created a history. For the first time in the history of the dam, the power plant was completely stopped showing shortage of water as the reason, even though the water had not reached the dead storage limit, said Panda.
The dam’s Dead Storage level of 590 feet is a stage from where irrigation and power generation should be stopped. For industries, however, the dead limit is said to be 595 feet. But while on June 17 the storage level was about 593.75 feet, the power supply was stopped while industries continued to draw water.
Panda said newspaper reports confirm that the dam authorities did an act of eyewash by stopping water to Hindalco Industries at Hirakud on June 17. However, the plant activities resumed in a few hours only. It is reported by newspapers that the dam authorities had to release water to Hindalco succumbing to pressure of the Secretary of the Water Resources Department.
Other industries also continue to draw water even as Hirakud’s water is receding and no canals could be supplied water on the stipulated date of June 16. “The WIO condemns such illegal and anti-people, anti-farmer act of the Water Resources Department and asks them to immediately stop water supply to industries and ensure water to irrigation canals,” said Panda.
Unless the water supply to industries is stopped, irrigation would drastically suffer and conflicts in the command area would grow, warned Panda.
“A dry reservoir is not merely due to scanty rainfall but also because of interceptions of Mahanadi’s flow by the Chhattisgarh upstream. And despite repeated urge of the WIO, the Government is not yet talking properly on managing the Mahanadi in an integrated basin management approach. The Government is only taking kneejerk measures to reduce flood devastations and not for comprehensive and coordinated management of the entire river,” alleged Panda, adding, “Such temporary and halfhearted approaches would neither reduce flood vulnerabilities during rainy season nor will solve such water scarcity situations during non-monsoon periods.”
It is high time the Government went in for a holistic management plan of Mahanadi that is people-centric, open and transparent. Further, the Government should now admit that Mahanadi is a ‘water deficit river’ and, accordingly, stop giving away precious water to industries beyond a limit drawn on a basis of proper ecological balance analysis keeping both present and future scenario in mind, said Panda.