Comments
The Union Ministry of Water Resources is planning to improve the lock-gate operations at Farakka Barrage in West Bengal to pave the way for movement of coal through the Ganges to NTPC power plants at Farakka, Kahalgaon and Barh.
The power major has already awarded a contract to Jindal ITF to carry 3-7 million tonne imported coal from the Haldia Port to Farakka. While part of the consignment will be consumed at Farakka, the rest will be carried through rail to Kahalgaon in Bihar.
Engineering marvel
A fresh tender has now been launched seeking bids for carrying another three million tonne of imported coal up to Barh-II thermal power project in Bihar.
Once regarded as an engineering marvel, the barrage is now in crying need of modernisation.
Out of 109 lock gates stretching over the 2,240-metre barrage, only one lock gate is available for movement of vessels.
To add to the woes of the barrage authorities, gates are now operated mechanically, taking three hours to complete the entire operation from opening to closure of the gate.
According to V. Trivedi, Chairperson, Inland Waterways Authority of India, the Union Government recently approved a Rs 24-crore project to install hydraulic gears for operation of one sluice gate. It should reduce allow passage of vessels in half an hour.
“We have also proposed that there be a second lock-gate in the near future (dedicated for vessels),” Trivedi had said recently.
After modernisation, the barrage official said, the lock-gate would allow passage for 80 vessels a month from the current 30. According to him, even if the barrage copes with movement of coal for NTPC’s Farakka unit, the current rate of vessel movement will be inadequate once transportation of consignment for the Barh-II plant begins.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.