Technical studies on Polavaram to be expedited

The panel has also discussed the pending designs and decided to take steps to speed up the process of their finalisation.

VIJAYAWADA: The Dam Design and Review Panel (DDRP) under the Central Water Commission (CWC) has asked the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) to expedite the studies related to upstream protection bund of Polavaram project to finalise the related designs. 

The panel has also discussed the pending designs and decided to take steps to speed up the process of their finalisation.

Officials of the DDRP and Polavaram Irrigation project, CWC and others held a virtual meeting on Tuesday.[Readmore]

Battered in monsoon last year, Velsao bandstand yet to be restored

COLVA: Last monsoon, stormy weather and choppy sea had battered the velsao shore and damaged the tiled bandstand structure when the floor collapsed.

A year later vegetation has taken over the collapsed portion, which is lying neglected as no repairs have been done. a part of the walls damaged by tidal waves last year, and stones and concrete material has been pushed back under the structure.[Readmore]

MMC calls for security at Girna dam

Nashik: The Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) has sought security at the Girna dam where dead fish and lobsters were found floating at the spot from where water is lifted for supplying to the city.

The sources from MMC said the corporation drew raw water from the premises of Water Resources Department (WRD) and the same was treated and provided to the residents across the city.

“Since the dam is not our property, we cannot put up security in the region. Hence we will ask the WRD to step up vigil in order to prevent any such incident in the future,” sources from MMC said. [Readmore]

Chhattisgarh to revive depleting groundwater in forests, build 1089 drains

The Narva Development Plan lays emphasis on the conservation and promotion of groundwater in the forest areas, the revival of water resources, river drains and renovation of ponds.

To help conserve depleting groundwater resources within hectares of forested areas, the Chattisgarh government has identified 1089 drains for treatment and revival in the forest areas. The programme will be implemented under the Narva Development Scheme -- the Narva Garuva Ghurwa Baari Vikas Yojana.

The initiative is aimed at the revival of 4,28,827 hectares of groundwater reservoirs within the forest-covered land. [Readmore]

Jal Shakti ministry’s groundwater guideline shuns opportunity to address overall crisis

Complex groundwater systems cannot be controlled or predicted, but need to be better managed and made more efficient 

The Central Ground Water Authority’s (GGWA) latest guideline — banning the grant of no-objection certificates (NoC) for extracting groundwater to all new industries coming up in ‘over-exploited’ areas — is yet another duplication of previous failed policy regulations.

By implication, the new regulatory policy is not pretentious about looking at the problem in totality while targeting a small, insignificant section of the overall groundwater users (existing industries, proposed industries, urban housing societies and mining projects).

According to the guideline, dated September 24, 2020, NoCs in ‘over-exploited’ areas will only be granted to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).[Readmore]

Salma Dam resumes operations as reservoir fills up

KABUL: Salma hydroelectric dam in Herat became fully operational on Sunday after the reservoir behind it filled with water.

With water levels rising in the reservoir, two dormant turbines resumed power generation operations on Sunday, adding 25 megawatts to the grid, said Da Afghan Breshna Sherkat spokesman Wahidullah Tawhidi.

Salma Dam which was built by India in 2016 is one of the biggest mega projects of the past two decades. It has three turbines, each producing 12.5 megawatt-hours of electricity which can provide power for 35,000 households, said Tawhidi.[Readmore]

An engineering marvel, Mullaperiyar dam turns 125 on Saturday

Opened in 1895, dam was caught in interstate dispute between TN, Kerala over its strength 

KOCHI: Mullaperiyar dam, an engineering marvel and a lifeline for five arid districts of Tamil Nadu, will complete 125 years of existence on Saturday. More than 3,000 workers had toiled for eight years, braving cold weather, incessant rain, wild animals and deadly diseases like cholera and malaria to build the 175-ft-high dam. It was the great Madras famine of 1876-78 that prompted the then British regime to construct a dam across Periyar so that the water could be diverted to the Vaigai river for irrigating the farm lands of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu.

An agreement was signed in October 1886 between the Maharaja of Travancore and then Madras Presidency, by which 8,100 acres of land were leased out for constructing the dam. The works began under the leadership of Scottish Major John Pennycuick in September 1887. The dam changed the lives of the residents of Theni who started worshipping Pennycuick as a demigod. However, as years passed, the dam was caught in an interstate dispute with Kerala raising concerns about its strength and demanding the construction of a new dam. Tamil Nadu opposed, paving the way for a prolonged legal battle and animosity between the two states.[Readmore]

Min inspects check dam work across Vaigai

Madurai: The check dam being constructed across the Vaigai river at Kodimangalam will benefit 3,360 acres of cultivable land apart from augmenting ground water level in the south of Madurai, said minister for cooperation Sellur K Raju on Monday.

The minister inspected the construction work along with the district collector T G Vinay and corporation commissioner S Visakan. The ground-breaking ceremony for the project was held on September 19. The check dam will be 210m in length and 2.1m in breadth.[Readmore]

Work on restoration of Veedur dam begins

Once the work is completed, the reservoir would have 105 mcft of additional capacity, officials said

Preliminary work for the restoration of Veedur dam near Vikravandi in Villupuram district has begun, with the Water Resources Organisation of the Public Works Department (PWD) carrying out aerial survey with the help of drones to map the dam’s profile and its water capacity.

“The previous survey conducted by the Institute of Hydraulics and Hydrology, Poondi in September had identified silt accumulation up to 105 million cubic feet (mcft),” a senior PWD official said. The second survey with drones would map the gradient, dam profile, contour level, accumulation of silt and the storage capacity of the dam.[Readmore]