This story is from September 5, 2020

‘Negligence in release from Narmada dam eroded soil’

‘Negligence in release from Narmada dam eroded soil’
Surat/Bharuch: Farmers of both Bharuch and Narmada districts who witnessed extraordinary discharge of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam last week have started complaining that their fertile land has been damaged due to sudden release of water from the dam.
“We have rarely seen such a huge release of more than 10 lakh cusec of water in downstream within 24 to 36 hours. This shows the negligence of dam administrators,” said Jayesh Patel, a leading farmer and trustee of Narmada Pradushan Nivaran Samiti.
“It seems that proper reservoir operating procedures were not adopted.
This mismanagement resulted in release of such a huge quantity of water from midnight of August 29 to September 2. The discharge of 8-11 lakh cusec water put lives of many people at risk. The state government needs to set up an inquiry into this,” he said.
Shree Garudeshwar Datt Sansthan Trust has also written a letter to Narmada collector expressing concern over the huge discharge of water that has affected historical properties of the trust. “In the past too we made representation on erosion on the bank of the river but now the situation has worsened,” said Patel.
P C Vyas, director of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) however refuted the allegations.
“We have followed set procedures and routed flood in the most effective way by releasing less water compared to inflow in dam,” said Vyas.
“It is only with prior intimation to the respective district authorities that water is released in the downstream of the river. The inflow of water was much greater than the release. If we would have released more water, it could have resulted into a major flood in downstream. We have efficiently controlled flood and managed the dam reservoir operations,” he said.
“An independent analysis by a team of four experts has shown how the systematic operation of SardarDam averted severe flood in Bharuch,” he said, adding that SSNNL has worked in close coordination with Narmada Control Authority, and authorities of dams in MP.
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