Himachal Pradesh 25 June 2023: Cloud Bursts Damage 2 Hydro Projects

(Feature Image: Under construction 66 Mw Dhaulasiddh hydro project site in Hamirpur. Image Source: ETV Bharat)

With the onset of south west monsoon 2023, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed multiple incidents of ‘cloud bursts’ leading to destruction in Solan, Shimla, Hamirpur and Kullu between June 24-25. The extreme rainfall and resultant flash flood spells have caused widespread destruction to farms, cowsheds, local roads, bridges, vehicles and other public infrastructural in these districts. 

14 MW GreenKo HEP damaged Amid this, there are reports about damages to at least two hydro power projects. The first project is 14 Mw GreenKo Hydro Electric Power (HEP) Project on Sechi khad (stream) in Sumez village under Sarpara panchayat in Rampur tehsil of Shimla district. Sechi khad is a perennial tributary of Sutlej River. The project appears to be operational for about a decade.

As per the Divya Himachal report there was a cloud burst incident in Sugga village resulting in huge deluge in the Sechi khad which in turn flooded the diversion pipe of the project. The report further mentions that the pen stock and the diversion pipe of the project were severely damaged.

Flooding and bursting of the project pipeline also aggravated flash flood destruction in the area by damaging several bighas of farming land and washing away a cowshed and a sawmill apart from blocking Rampur-Sarapara Road.

Following the incident, the local people have demanded to keep the project operation closed during monsoon. They fear that the project diversion pipeline passing through hill top could be a potential safety threat for the villagers in case of damages due to bursting or rock fall. They said that their repeated complaints have been ignored by the project management. Here is a short video report narrating about the incident and its impact.

Dhaulasiddh HEP damaged Dhaulasiddh HEP is the second hydro project dented by flash flood consequent to a cloud burst in HP. The 66Mw hydropower project is being built on Beas River by Satluj Jal Vidhyut Nigam (SJVN) in Sujanpur tehsil of Hamirpur district. The foundation stone of the project was laid in Dec 2021. The project estimated cost is Rs. 687 crore and has commissioning deadline of 2025.

The flash flood also washed away about 6 machines at Dhaulasiddh project site causing a loss of Rs. 25 lakh to the Indira company which have reportedly sub-contracted the work to Ritwik construction company. The machines were installed there to pump out the water. As per the report the deluge occurred all of a sudden and some workers handling the machines managed to save their lives in the nick of time.

Revealing some information about the incident, the ETV Bharat report writes that a cloud burst incident in morning hours in Khairi village flooded 5 homes with muck and debris apart from impacting a panchayat building and a cowshed.

Other HEP related damage In addition to these incidents, there has been one more incident of wrong dam operation in which the Chabba water supply scheme in Shimla was affected after sudden release of water from Nathpa dam. As per the report, the pump house was submerged and the submersible pumps as well as the inlet pipe of the scheme have been damaged by the sudden discharges disrupting 8 MLD potable water supply to Shimla city and restoration of the same could take some days.

It is worth to mention that in recent years there is increase in extreme weather events affecting the built and under construction hydro power projects in Himalayan region. Even in July 2022, the 100 MW Malana II HEP in Parbati Valley, Himachal Pradesh was severely damaged by the flash floods following cloud burst.

Previously, at least four HEPs (Brahmaganga, Bane-Sangam, Tiroth, Chamera II) suffered minor or major impacts due to cloud burst induced flash floods in the state in monsoon season 2021. During same period, SANDRP could find information on at least 7 HEPs (4 in Uttarakhand, 2 in J&K and 1 in Ladakh) getting affected in lesser or greater degree by cloud burst deluge.

Bhim Singh Rawat (bhim.sandrp@gmail.com)

References:

1. https://agisac.gov.in/hpcampa/CD%20INDI%20CAT%20Plan/Sumez.pdf
2. https://www.divyahimachal.com/2023/06/vehicles-washed-away-due-to-rain-roads-damaged-rain-wreaks-havoc-in-himachal-damage-due-to-flood-in-mohal-khad-of-kullu/
3. https://www.jagran.com/himachal-pradesh/shimla-himachal-monsoon-wreaking-havoc-in-the-state-cloud-burst-in-sarpara-village-of-rampur-many-bighas-of-crops-washed-away-in-water-23451891.html 
4. https://www.amarujala.com/shimla/himachal-pradesh-flash-floods-in-sugga-nullah-sarpara-panchayat-in-rampur-bushahr-2023-06-25
5. https://himachal.punjabkesari.in/himachal-pradesh/news/cloud-burst-in-rampur-1844110 
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyQUi4vXoQs
7. https://www.amarujala.com/shimla/inauguration-of-diversion-tunnel-of-dhaulasiddh-hydroelectric-project-in-hamirpur-himachal
8. https://www.etvbharat.com/hindi/himachal-pradesh/state/hamirpur/heavy-rain-in-hamirpur-cloud-burst-in-khairi-heavy-damage-in-hamirpur-due-to-rain/hp20230625214837558558589
9. https://hindi.theprint.in/india/heavy-rains-in-himachal-pradesh-two-people-died-loss-of-rs-78-lakh-to-the-state-in-24-hours/558153/
10. https://hindi.moneycontrol.com/news/india/rainfall-alert-floods-landslides-rains-wreak-havoc-in-himachal-pradesh-two-killed-chandigarh-manali-highway-traffic-jam-1324301.html
11. https://sandrp.in/2022/07/14/himachal-pradesh-july-2022-cloudburst-at-malana-ii-hep-in-parbati-valley/
12. https://sandrp.in/2021/10/21/himachal-pradesh-cloud-bursts-in-monsoon-2021/
13. https://sandrp.in/2021/10/12/uttarakhand-cloud-bursts-in-sw-monsoon-2021/
14. https://sandrp.in/2021/11/04/monsoon-2021-cloud-bursts-in-jammu-kashmir-and-ladakh/