L&T, Lanco hydel units hit by floods

A host of hydel projects, being constructed on Mandakini in Uttarakhand, have suffered heavy damages

A host of hydel projects, being constructed on Mandakini near the Kedarnath shrine area in Rudraprayag district, have suffered heavy damages by the floods and landslides that took place in Uttarakhand.

Most operational hydel projects remained shut, owing to heavy silt in the flooded rivers for the last two days. However, some on Yamuna river have resumed generation.

Latest reports reveal two big projects of L&T and Lanco Group also bore the brunt of the floods. L&T, which had invested Rs 500 crore in its 99-Mw Singholi Bhatwari project suffered the most at Gorikund area on the foothills of Kedarnath hills. "We have heard there was a big damage to our project," confirmed an official of L&T.

Lanco officials confirmed the 76-Mw Phata Byung project had suffered big losses in the floods near Rambara, the worst-hit area in the state. "Since there is no communication to our project officials, we cannot tell you the exact damage. But our damages are very heavy," said the official.

Significantly, both the projects had faced the wrath of "save river campaign" activists in 2009, due to which the construction work remained suspended for several months.

Two small hydel projects of the UJVN Ltd, the state-run hydropower company, were also damaged in the mudslides. These projects are 6 Mw Kaliganga-I and 4 Mw kaliganga-II. "Our losses are to the tune of Rs 77 crore," said UJVN Managing Director G P Patel.

Patel said a couple of hydel projects on the Yamuna river, which were shut down due to heavy siltation, have started producing power again. "Now only a half dozen hydel projects, including 90 Mw Maneri Bhali-I and 304 Mw Maneri Bhali-II, are not generating power now. But we are hopeful that by tomorrow most of our projects will resume generating power," said Patel.

The latest status report released by the government this evening said 69 people were dead in the killer monsoon rains, the worst in several decades in the hill state.

But the report did not paint the full picture of the death and destruction caused by landslides, cloud bursts and floods and said only 26 people were missing.

But top police officials conceded that the enormity of the heavy rains is very big. Even chief minister Vijay Bahuguna also agreed that destruction is vast. But how many were actually killed in the Kedarnath region particularly in Rambara area on the slopes of Kedarnath shrine, 70 percent of whose portion was only visible in mudslides remained a puzzle. Unconfirmed reports said nearly 500 to 1000 people might have been missing at Kedarnath region alone.