The Water Resources department, which is the user agency of the Mandal dam, has washed its hands of Laat group of villages, if and when sluice gates are installed in this dam.
Aftab Alam, executive engineer of irrigation office here in Daltonganj, said, “There are 13 villages in Laat group. Our department has rightfully dropped this group of Laat villages from our project of the Mandal dam.
This group of villages is not going to be affected by the installation of gates in the dam.” Alam said there will be no submergence and so there will be no relocation and rehabilitation in the wake of any displacement. Similarly two other villages Garee and Kaer close to National Park Betla are too far off from any impact of the dam once gates are installed.
Sources said there is a sudden spurt in the activities related to the Mandal dam as Prime Minister Narender Modi is due to arrive here in Jharkhand on January 5. Sources said there is an undercurrent that PM’s visit would mean a big thrust for the Mandal dam lying in limbo over the last 38 to 40 years or so.
The dam in all these years is without any sluice gate and if all goes well by the plan then there will be four gates that are to be installed in this dam with a full reservoir level height of just 341 meter now.
Mandal dam comes under Chatra Lok Sabha constituency while it falls under Latehar district. On Friday Chief Engineer Mukesh Kumar, executive engineer Aftab Alam and host of other senior officials made a trip to Mandal dam.
Sources said the 22 kilometer stretch of metallic road from Barwadeeh to Mandal dam has been handed down to PWD road for its strengthening, widening and better black topping said executive engineer Alam who said, “ Our department has urged PWD road o do this on their own.”
However, sources said here on this stretch of 22 Kms there comes as many as 5 to 8 Kms which fall under forest division and here again there is the glitch of forest clearance for the strengthening widening and black topping of this road. Sources said the forest clearance for this stretch of road which is very vital may not linger this time following central government’s high pursuance of this dam.