Srinagar Hydro-power project has been made with the dam being located upstream of Srikot near Srinagar and the power house has being made a little below Srinagar at Kilkileshwar. The water from dam is diverted into a huge canal which takes the water to the power house where power is generated and then the water is released back into the river. The canal appears to be made of poor quality.
Water is leaking from the bottom of the canal near village Supana which means that the structure of the canal is not stable. The height of the two sides of the canal appears to be less than what is required Near village Mangsu. As a result, whenever the water level is a little high it overflows to the canal and it flows into the village.
The company has made another small canal to capture this overflow water and prevent it from going it to the houses. While this has removed the problem to some extent but the substandard construction of the canal remains as it is. The company had faced similar problem in around 2015. At that time the sedimentation tank of the project had sunk and water had started gushing out from the sedimentation tank.
The Sedimentation Tank of the Srinagar Hydro Electric Project had leaked in 2015
The people of the Mangsu and other villages filed a complaint before the National Green Tribunal under the leadership of Uttam Singh Bhandari and Vimal Bhai (see report here). The Tribunal appointed a committee of government officials which looked into the issue and this committee confirmed these facts that has been just enumerated above (see report here).
The National Green Tribunal has directed the company to take care of these weaknesses (see report here). But it is a question that weather the company actually to do it? Because it may require entire dismantling and rebuilding of the canal.
Be as it may, that the quality of the construction of this project is substandard and putting a large number of people to risk. Therefore, the government should think weather to continue with this type of hydropower development.
