Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (JPVL), on Sunday, closed its Vishnuprayag Hydro Electric Project (VHEP) as a precaution given to avalanche caused flash floods in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
“On February 7 (Sunday), an unusual event took place in the river basin of Dhauli Ganga in District Chamoli (Uttarakhand) between 9.30 am and 11 am. Unfortunately, a glacier plunged into the Raine village of the district Chamoli, causing the river to rise rapidly, leading to swollen river level for some time which caused damage to life, property and projects falling in direct contact of the flow of the river,” the company said in the statement.
JPVL has a 400-megawatt Vishnuprayag Hydro Electric Project with its barrage over the Alaknanda river, and the project’s tailrace tunnel discharging water in river Dhauli Ganga. The river water gushed in through the tailrace tunnel of the project bringing with it the slush, it stated.
As a responsible corporate operating in Uttarakhand for over 30 years, the company said, “They are saddened by this tragedy caused due to events beyond the control of all and an act of nature.” The company explained that ‘sudden development of the ‘Force Majeure’ event led to the closure of the power generation.
The company is analysing all aspects and is confident about resuming the operations after completing the cleaning and checking all aspects in a few days.