M A I N   N E W S

Larji Dam officials ignored warnings, panel guidelines
Pratibha Chauhan & Dharam Prakash Gupta
Tribune News Service

What Central Water Commission guidelines say An emergency flood warning system should be in place for downstream areas Scientific and technical instruments invented and adopted for ensuring safety of the dam and the life and property of people downstream must be installed Vulnerable points be identified, and signboards, hooters/ sirens and mobile vans equipped with public address system be put in place No siren heard Though the Larji project authorities claim warning through sirens is issued 15 minutes before the release of water, locals say on June 8, the sirens were not heard even as they warned the students about the possible risk seeing the rise in the water level

Shimla/Mandi, June 17
Had the guidelines of the Central Water Commission (CWC) outlining dam safety measures been strictly enforced, 24 Hyderabad students could have been saved from being washed way in the Beas in Mandi. These guidelines are mandatory for all power projects in the country.

The CWC has listed 10 guidelines for dam safety during construction and full operational stage in the lifespan of the power project and 16 preventive measures for disaster management in case of dam failure or sudden release of water.

These include setting up of a dam safety cell, development and identification of inflow hydrograph to the reservoir at the time of failure, modelling movement of the flood behaviour downstream to determine travel time and maximum water level.

The CWC guidelines say that an emergency flood warning system should be in place for downstream areas and installation of scientific and technical instruments, which are invented and adopted for ensuring safety of the dam and the life and property of people downstream. It also mentions that vulnerable points be identified, signboards, hooters/ sirens and mobile vans equipped with public address system be put in place.

Following the tragedy on June 8, the Himachal Government has directed 45 power producers having projects in various river basins in the state to ensure strict adherence of the CWC safety regulations.

On June 12, the Directorate of Energy shot off a letter to 45 power producers having dams with a minimum height of 15 metres or more to ensure that all CWC dam safety measures and disaster management plans are in place.

“Authorities of all 45 dams have been asked to provide a copy of their disaster management plans along with operation and maintenance procedures at the earliest. They have been asked to point out any shortcomings or suggestions if any,” said a senior official of the Directorate of Energy.

“These guidelines had always been there, but no enforcement agency, including the Directorate, bothered whether they were being adhered to by power producers,” he added.

Investigations have revealed that three sirens were installed in 2006 by the Larji Dam authorities to cover a range of 5 km, though the capacity details (distance up to which the sound of a siren can be heard) on are not legible.

“Three more sirens covering 8 km area downstream have been installed at the dam, powerhouse and residential colony after the mishap,” said SS Rana, Executive Engineer, (civil maintenance), Larji project. The mishap site is almost two km from the Larji barrage.

Post June 8 tragedy, the dam authorities have put up five notice boards at vulnerable points. The Dam authorities have also decided to issue warnings through public address system fixed on a mobile van to warn people about the release of water, which is usually done whenever water touches the danger level.

Though project authorities claim that warning through sirens is issued 15 minutes before the release of water, locals say that on June 8, the sirens were not heard though the locals did warn the students about the possible risk seeing the rise in the water level.

Between 5.50 pm and 6.45 pm, the dam authorities released 50, 150, 250 and 450 cumecs of water in four instalments from radial gate number 5, resulted in rise in water level by seven feet.

Had a disaster management cell been in place, the additional flow of 450 cumecs of water at 6.45 pm from Larji could have been stopped as an immediate response. Locals revealed that since they are unaware about any telephone number where an SOS could be sent, they helplessly watched the students being washed away and more water being released.

In the status report on Larji mishap filed by Chief Secretary P Mitra in the High Court yesterday, it has clearly been said that Deputy Commissioner Mandi on his visit to the spot at Thalot found that there were no warning system or notice boards installed at the site.

“The cause of the incident appears to be sudden discharge of water from the Larji barrage though the exact cause for the incident could be known after the inquiry,” the report read.