4 August 2012 (News)
Update as of 5th of August 2012, Flood Situation in Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand)
In the most intense natural tragedy to hit the Uttarkashi district since 1978, a cloud burst in the middle of the night drowned three fire brigade personnel and swept away bridges along with a large part of Gangotri National Highway, night of August 3rd and morning of August 4th 2012. Around 300 personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police along with various teams of state disaster management are currently involved in the rescue operations.
This news of about havoc flood disrupting Uttarakashi district of Uttarakhand, have saddened the inhabitants and non residents all around world, which can be seen through the news channels and social media. Many other small regions are announced to be affected severely. We are continuously monitoring the news through our local contacts, please do provide any information you may have or any call you want to make for help in the comment section underneath. Water level for Alaknanda seems to be higher by 10-12 meter than its normal height.
Yesterday, from second round of Maneri Bhali power project water started entering the Gyansu area and also damaged the TAPASTHALI of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi. Management started the flushing work, however the mud level seems to have raise the real concerns. Everything was under observation of SDM Shri S K Barnwal and Jal Vidyt Nigam management team.
Today’s news about the Maneri Bhali Dam disruption, comes as a big surprise. Now, that could be due to poor maintenance or due to the havoc flood in the area. Bhagirathi river seems to have the water level much higher than it danger line and a couple of bridges appears to be broken till now. Whatsoever the situation, the question arises if SDM knew about the situation well ahead of time, why necessary steps were not taken within the given time span since yesterday. This marks BIG question on long lasting debate, WHETHER DAM REPRESENT DEVELOPMENT OR DESTRUCTION.
The Maneri Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Bhagirathi River located at Maneri, 8.5 km (5 mi) east of Uttarkashi in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, India. The primary purpose of the dam is to divert water into a tunnel which feeds the 90 MW run-of-the-river Tiloth Power Plant. The power station is stage one of the Maneri Bhali Hydroelectric Project which was planned in the 1960s. It was completed and commissioned in 1984. Dharasu Power Station, the second stage, was halted in 1990 due to funding issues and was not restarted until 2002. It was eventually completed and commissioned by 2008.
The Maneri Dam is a 39 m (128 ft) tall and 127 m (417 ft) wide gravity dam with a structural volume of 13,700 m3 (17,919 cu yd). It’s spillway is located on its crest and is controlled by four tainter gates. In addition to discharge tunnel, the spillway has a maximum discharge capacity of 5,000 m3/s (176,573 cu ft/s). The dam’s reservoir has a 600,000 m3 (486 acre·ft) capacity, of which 510,000 m3 (413 acre·ft) is active (or “useful”) capacity. Water supplied to the power station is first diverted from the Bhagirathi River by the dam into a 8.6 km (5 mi) long tunnel directly behind the dam. The difference in elevation between the barrage and the power station affords a design hydraulic head of 147.5 m (484 ft) and gross head of 180 m (591 ft). Near the Tiloth Power Plant at 30°43′36″N 78°26′44″E, the tunnel splits into three penstocks to power each of the three 30 MW Francis turbine-generators before being discharged back into the river. The design discharge of the power station is 71.4 m3/s (2,521 cu ft/s).
Small clip on after flood scenario:
Here is a small clip of Maneri Dam
REF: “Maneri Bhali Stage-I (Tiloth) Power Plant (3×30=90 MW)”. Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited. Retrieved 12 July 2011., “India: National Register of Large Dams 2009″. Central Water Commission. Retrieved 10 July 2011.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneri_Dam,http://promarktravels.com/blog/
