The Hindu Business Line : Heavy rains: Gujarat gets more power, water

Gandhinagar, July 3 Heavy rains in the Saurashtra region and southern districts of Gujarat during the last two days have flooded many areas and claimed more than 60 lives besides destroying property, but the State has seen water table in its parched landscape rise significantly, improved power production and is waiting for a bumper kharif crop.

Rushing back

The Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, who is currently in Geneva, Switzerland, heading a business delegation to woo the European investors to Gujarat, has urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to provide assistance from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) for the losses suffered by agriculture and livestock. Cutting short his visit, he is rushing back to Gujarat at the earliest., an official report said.

Army assistance

The State Government summoned Army assistance in several flood-hit areas where nearly 50,000 people were removed to safety. Rail, road and air traffic, too, have been adversely affected but there was no damage to the State’s infrastructure, unlike last year when the flash flood in South Gujarat had caused losses worth thousands of crores.

Contingency plan

An ONGC spokesman from Hazira told Business Line over telephone that the situation in the coastal industrial town was normal. However, taking a lesson from the last year’s flash floods, the Corporation has activated a three-ph ased contingency plan to meet any similar situation and restore within two weeks any possible disruption in the current gas supply to the tune of 40 million cubic metres per day (mcmd) to major industrial units across Central and Western India.

Ukai dam

This plan envisages steps to be taken when water level rises in the Ukai dam reservoir on the Tapti river in Surat district, and includes lifting of equipment and relocation of people to safety. ONGC was also in touch with the flood control and district officials and keeping a watch on the water level at Ukai which was currently 314 metres, against the danger mark of 345 metres, he said.

Reports from Surat and other places suggested that with a phased release of waters from different swollen rivers, officials were trying to avert dangers of flash flood.

The Sardar Sarovar dam on the River Narmada, where water level in the reservoir increased to 123.14 metres on Tuesday, has begun to generate 1,200 MW of electricity since yesterday. This will continue till the water level remains as high as it is today, the Minister of State for Energy, Mr Saurabh Patel told Business Line.

Power demand

“There is no demand for power in the agriculture sector now and no shortage of power anywhere in the State. We have no load shedding in Gujarat” he said. Electricity had been restored in all but nearly 200 of the 2,150-odd villages, which faced black-outs due to either safety reasons or because of rain-related causes during the last couple of days, which forced the Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) to shut down around 900 power distribution feeders.

With the increased water level in the reservoir at the Sardar Sarovar dam, all six turbine generators of 200 MW each at the River Bed Power house (RBPH) are generating power. These units can operate at a minimum reservoir level of 110.64 metres. At the Canal head Power House (CHPH), with an installed capacity of 250 MW (five units of 50 MW each), power generation was normal.

Till March this year, the Sardar Sarovar dam has generated a total of 5815.062 MU of hydro-electric power, official sources said. Meanwhile, more than 30 reservoirs across Gujarat, mostly in Saurashtra, are overflowing, increasing prospects of a bumper kharif crop and raising water table considerably.

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