Landslide hits river water supply to power project

Ishfaq Tantry

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 15

With Kashmir witnessing the heaviest snowfall in decades, the water supply to the Kishenganga Hydel Power Project in north Kashmir has been affected due to a massive landslide in a major tributary of the Kishenganga river.

The massive landslide, triggered by an avalanche, has blocked water in the Chek Nullah in the Gurez valley in Bandipora district in north Kashmir where the dam site of the power project is located.

As per the information provided by the Deputy Commissioner, Bandipora, Shahbaz Mirza, the district administration is keeping track of the emerging situation arising out of the landslide, which has affected the supply of water to the Kishenganga power project.

Giving firsthand information, Tehsildar Gurez Ghulam Nabi told The Tribune that the landslide had blocked the Chek Nullah beyond the brigade headquarters, which had drastically reduced the flow of water into the Kishenganga, the main source of water to the Kishenganga dam.

“The landslide occurred on Tuesday. Right now the water level is so much low in the Kishenganga that one can cross it on foot,” the official said.

Despite repeated attempts, no official from the NHPC, Bandipora, was available for comments on the affect of landslide on electricity generation at the Kishenganga Power House.