NDRF to try opening Malana floodgates again

Kullu: Malana hydroelectricity project’s dam here continues to overflow even as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will make a second attempt to help the experts open the jammed floodgates.A high amount of silt in the water has causing this jamming. The NDRF was called to Malana from Kullu on June 25, a day after the water had brimmed over that barrier. A district administration official said the dam’s gantry crane, which is used to open and close the floodgates, had also malfunctioned. The overflow forced the NDRF to use ropes and other climbing equipment for taking the technical team 60 metres up to the gantry crane atop the dam.The offical said: “When the repair mission failed, they tried to open the gates manually, which also was unsuccessful. Then more rainfall came and the operation was suspened. Now the teams will make another attempt to repair the crane and open the floodgates. As a precautionary measure, the villages on the riverbanks of the Parvati have been evacuated and the villagers living downstream of the dam advised to stay away from the Parvati and Beas rivers.” The project produces 100 megawatts of electricity.A landslide on the night between July 25 and 26 blocked the Chandigarh-Manali highway for 6 miles near Pandoh in Mandi district. After the boulders fell at 1 am on Wednesday, it took 12 hours or until 1pm to reopen the route. While the work was on, the traffic was diverted through the Mandi-Kullu road that goes via Kataula.
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