Sardar Sarovar dam 63.32 per cent full, water level rises to 126.89 m
Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) officials, however, said it was decided to balance the rising levels in the dam by generating hydropower through the 1,200-MW Riverbed Powerhouse (RBPH) instead of opening the radial gates.
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At present, the Sardar Sarovar dam has gross storage of 5,990.52 million cubic metres and is 63.32 per cent full.
(Express Photo)The water level in the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district reached 126.89 metres Monday evening, increasing nearly five metres since July 21, following heavy rainfall in the catchment and water release from Madhya Pradesh.
At present, the Sardar Sarovar dam has gross storage of 5,990.52 million cubic metres and is 63.32 per cent full.
Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) officials, however, said it was decided to balance the rising levels in the dam by generating hydropower through the 1,200-MW Riverbed Powerhouse (RBPH) instead of opening the radial gates.
Sardar Sarovar, which stood at 121.71 metres on July 20, has been receiving an inflow of close to 1.8 lakh cusecs from upstream in Madhya Pradesh. However, according to SSNNL officials, the rainfall has now decreased in MP, thus necessitating that the filling up of the dam must be balanced by operating the six Francis-type reversible turbine generators of RBPH with a capacity of 1,200 MW.
SSNNL chief engineer RG Kanungo told The Indian Express, “The operation of the dam is a dynamic process… The SSNNL follows the recommendation of the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir Regulation Committee of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA). As of now, they have asked us to continue operating the powerhouses to release water to ensure a safe filling up… We have two more months of the monsoon left… Therefore, we are positive about having the dam rise to its Full Reservoir Level (FRL of 138.68 metres).”
According to Kanungo, the powerhouses are generating over 20 Million Units of electricity per day since mid-July. “The power generated per day is worth Rs 5 crore… it is beneficial to all and ensures that the dam level is maintained. There is no decision on opening the radial gates right now because the rainfall in the catchment areas and upstream dams in MP are on a downward trend… It might change and we need to watch the levels and release from Indirasagar, said to be the mother dam of Sardar Sarovar.”
The upstream dams in MP like Tawa, Hoshangabad, Indirasagar and Omkareshwar are receiving heavy rainfall since July 15. As per the hydrology data of NCA of 36 rain gauge stations upstream Sardar Sarovar, until July 22, Tawa received 1072.6 mm of rainfall while Pachmarhi recorded 1001.2 mm, Indirasagar and Omkareshwar recorded 410 mm and 444 mm, respectively, while Sardar Sarovar itself recorded 539 mm of rain. Molgi, the catchment area immediately preceding Sardar Sarovar, recorded the highest rainfall in the basin with 1090.9 mm until July 22.
The RBPH is releasing 43,084 cusecs of water while the canal head powerhouse (CHPH) is releasing 2,878 cusecs of water downstream.
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