Sambalpur: Any threat to the structure of Hirakud Dam has been ruled out by Ananda Chandra Sahoo, Chief Engineer & Basin Manager Mahanadi Basin.
In his reaction to reports in a section of the media expressing concern over cracks in various sections of the dam’s structure as pointed out to him in a letter issued by Chief Engineer, Dam Safety, Sahoo said, “There are no dangerous or minor cracks in Hirakud dam. The cracks that have been mentioned are hair cracks, these cracks are always present in concrete faces be it buildings, hydraulic structures, etc. It is nothing to worry about”.
Responding to a query on the Dam Safety Review Panel’s (DSRP’s) recommendation and suggestions of January 2020 cited in the aforementioned letter of the Chief Engineer Dam Safety, Sahoo admitted that the DSRP had instructed for a survey every five years.
“The DSRP team had instructed us for a survey every five years. Our technical personnel conduct a visual inspection by entering inside the operation gallery, and foundation gallery at different points of time and if it is noticed that it is more then we go for a special survey. So, as per the DSRP’s recommendations, I had written a letter to our State Dam Safety Engineer on May 27 this year to send a team to conduct a survey,” explained Sahoo.
Sahoo said that so accordingly, the Dam Safety Engineer in reply had sought data on six points which include an underwater survey of the upstream face using divers or robots and downstream using drone cameras where men cannot go, for inspection mapping of cracks if any in the operation gallery and foundation gallery.
He said be it concrete dam or earth dam seepage is allowed world over within permissible limits.
“The dam is fully safe and secure there is no threat. I request all not to pay attention to media reports about the threat to the dam’s safety. It’s fully safe,” he asserted.
