Ailing power houses

Power crisis in the State knows no end. Every time we write on the subject a new situation and a new discrepancy comes to light. Power shortage is a perennial problem of our State and the Government blows hot and cold in the same breath.
The things have now come to a pass where the very professionalism of our engineers and technocrats is questioned. Why was the canal bringing water to Sewa III Hydel Project at Basohli in Kathua tehsil built so close to the bank of river Ravi that a portion of it was washed away when, after heavy rains, the water of the river rose? Why did not our engineers anticipate the threat to the canal from the rising waters of the river? Precisely that happened and the power house that was to generate 9 MW remains dysfunctional for more than a year now. The authorities do not even care to do something to repair the damage and restart generating of power. How come that the Sewa II hydel power generating unit is functioning normally and has not encountered any obstruction though it is not too far away from Sewa III.
In the same way we have the case of  upper  Sindh  Hydel Power Project (USHP) -II unit at Wangat hydroelectric power project in Kangan tehsil in the Valley. This unit is defunct for last two years now after a portion of Wangat canal got eroded. The project, which has a capacity of generating 105 MWs of power from its three units, is generating only 75 MWs of power during peak hours at present as its one unit is totally defunct now.
Interestingly, though the above mentioned power generating units are lying defunct for more than one year respectively, the inexplicable thing about them is that the Government has not so far instituted any inquiry into the failure of the schemes and the loss that has been incurred on these projects. The loss runs into crores of rupees. For USHP II project alone a sum around 100 crores has been invested and with no return. Why did not the engineers make the canals safe against erosion during heavy rains? This does not require any highly specialized technical training to tame a canal. Obviously the engineers and technocrats who worked at it did not put their mind to the job and did not envision what damages could take place in view of some natural phenomenon. It is the duty of the Government to institute an inquiry into these happenings for which finger will be raised against the efficiency of the engineers.
But the damages happening in the case of two projects that have been brought under focus should not mean that we abandon the policy of setting up small power generating projects at sites where feasibility is approved. Sometimes natural calamities cannot be controlled by human beings. All that one can do is to anticipate what could happen and try to avoid the crisis. Therefore, we would suggest the Power Development Department not to stall any smaller power generating projects if they have one on the anvil but at the same time institute an inquiry into the two cases where power generating has been suspended for technical reasons for two or more years now. People’s patience should not be tested. The Government has promised them facility of electric power and this has to be restored. Experience gained from the faults that have happened in these two projects should be kept in mind when planning for new power generating projects. We will again lay stress on the idea of giving due importance to small power projects that can be set up locally in various parts of the state which do not entail huge investments. That is one important step in making the State self sufficient in generating electric power.

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