A dam safety committee which visited the Hirakud Hydro- Electric Project at Burla in Sambalpur district of Odisha on Wednesday has confirmed leakage of water from the Hirakud dam. The five-member committee of experts, however, maintained that there was no danger to the safety of the dam as the leakage was repairable.
The visit of the committee followed a report on seepage of water in the inspection gallery at EL- 470 of the dam.
The chief engineer (projects) had submitted the report to the principal secretary of the state energy department of Odisha, expressing apprehension of potential danger to the safety of the Hirakud dam.
The report said that during annual inspection on March 12, profuse water seepage was observed in the inspection gallery upstream of Hirakud reservoir. The report described the leakage as “alarming” and said that the arrangement to pump out the leakage water was not working and there was six inch deep water on the floor.
Chief engineer, dam safety, Prasanna Mohanty, who was a part of the team, however, said there is no need to be scared. “We visited the power house, the gallery and other places of the dam to inspect the leakages. There is nothing to be worried about the crack. The leakage is a normal process and there is no threat to the dam due to it. This can be repaired,” Mohanty said, adding that another committee will visit the dam on June 15.
Ramesh Tripathy, a retired chief engineer and member of the committee, said the panel will soon submit a report to the state water resource department on measures to be taken to repair the leakage.