M A I N   N E W S

Army on high alert after Chinese warning
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 8
The civil administration, the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were again put on high alert following a flash message from the Chinese authorities that the lake formed in Tibet due to blocking of Parchu, a tributary of the Sutlej, could overflow or the blockage could give way anytime during the next 24 hours.

Sources said the message was sent on the basis of the report of a team sent by the Chinese Government to inspect the lake site yesterday. The team indicated that the entire area was having incessant rain as a result of which the water level in the lake was rising at an alarming rate. It could overflow anytime, it said. The report also did not rule out the possibility of the lake dam formed by the landslide bursting under pressure.

Enquiries made by this correspondent indicated that there was no rain on the Indian side of the border during the past 24 hours and the sun had been shining brightly in the Sumdoh area throughout the day. However, clouds were visible on the high hills, but it was not possible to make out how much rain had been received. The government was relying on the Chinese information and taking no chances.

However, there has been no increase in the discharge of the Parechu river.

While preparing for the worst, the officials have been trying to assess the likely impact of the floods in case the dam bursts. There has been wide discrepancy in the size of the water body as calculated by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad, using the satellite imageries and the one worked out on the size worked out on the basis of the data provided by the Chinese authorities.

As per the NRSA report the lake was 1,900 m long and 900 m wide and the total surface area worked out to 150 hectares on the basis of the satellite image taken on August 6 at 2 pm. The Chinese authorities, however, informed that the lake had acquired a length of 6,000 m and become 1,500 m wide by August 4. Further, the level of water has risen to 71 m at the front end of the 80 m high blockade. The surface area works out to be around 900 hectare, around six times the area calculated on the basis of satellite imageries.

The quantity of accumulated water works out to about 49 million cubic metre on the basis of the Chinese information. Working out the dynamics of the water flow in case the dam bursts suddenly, engineers of the Nathpa-Jhakri Project maintain that the discharge in the Sutlej can cross the 7,500 cusecs mark if the water is released in one hour.

The maximum water level of the Sutlej can go up to 13 m as against 11 m in August, 2000. It will be around 6,000 cusecs if the release is slow and takes two hours. The level of the Sutlej will then be around 10 m. The possibility of sudden release was less as the lake was elongated.

The intensity of the floods will be around half of that witnessed in August, 2000, if the calculations are made on the basis of the satellite data. In case the depth of the lake is taken to be 23 m, the discharge in the river, if the water is released within an hour, will be 5,000 cusecs. In that eventuality, the floods will not be devastating. Further, the width of the river has been increased significantly right from Khab to Rampur due to the August, 2000, floods.

Mr Shamsher Singh, Chief Secretary, reviewed the preparedness of the administration in dealing with the flood threat at a high-level meeting this evening. He asked officers to maintain round-the-clock vigil and be prepared for any eventuality. He said in case of floods, information should be disseminated to the quarters concerned speedily.

Those living along the banks of the Sutlej and workers engaged in various projects have been advised to shift to safer places immediately. Around 1,000 persons have already been shifted from Tapri, Powari, Reta Khan, Choling and Shalkar in Kinnaur district and about 500 from Shimla and Kulu districts.

Meanwhile, the 1,500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri Project resumed power generation this afternoon following reduction in the level of silt in the Sutlej river.

Out of six 250 MW units, two units were made operational by afternoon. The Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam planned to make at least five units operational by the evening. However, it decided against doing so after receiving the flood warning.

A control room has been set up in the state secretariat (phone numbers 2621685,2622204 and 2621154).