Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant

Kishanganga Dam
Location of Kishanganga Dam in Jammu and Kashmir
Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant (India)
Coordinates 34°38′51″N 74°45′53″E / 34.64750°N 74.76472°E / 34.64750; 74.76472Coordinates: 34°38′51″N 74°45′53″E / 34.64750°N 74.76472°E / 34.64750; 74.76472
Status Operational
Construction began 2007
Opening date May 19 2018
Construction cost Rs. 5783.17 crore ($864 million USD 2016)[1]
Owner(s) NHPC Limited
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Concrete-face rock-fill
Impounds Kishanganga (Neelum) River
Height 37 m (121 ft)
Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant
Coordinates 34°28′21″N 74°38′06″E / 34.47250°N 74.63500°E / 34.47250; 74.63500
Operator(s) NHPC
Commission date May 19 2018
Hydraulic head 640 m (2,100 ft)[2]
Turbines 3 x 110 MW Pelton-type
Installed capacity 330 MW

The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant is an $864 million dam which is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River (Neelum River) to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin. It is located 5 km (3 mi) north of Bandipore in Jammu and Kashmir, India and will have an installed capacity of 330 MW. Construction on the project began in 2007 and was expected to be complete in 2016. Construction on the dam was temporarily halted by the Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration (CoA) in October 2011 due to Pakistan's protest of its effect on the flow of the Kishanganga River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan). In February 2013, the CoA ruled that India could divert all the water leaving a minimum amount of water to the downstream of the dam on Kishanganga River for the purpose of environmental flows.[3][4] However, the minor differences between India and Pakistan over the project are still not settled.[5] All the three units (3 x 110 MW) were commissioned and synchronized with the electricity grid by 30 March 2018.[6] On 19 May 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kishanganga hydropower project.[7]

Design

The project includes a 37 m (121 ft) tall concrete-face rock-fill dam which will divert a portion of the Kishanganga River south through a 24 km (15 mi) tunnel. The tunnel is received by a surge chamber before sending water to the underground power house which contains 3 x 110 MW Pelton turbine-generators. After the power plant, water is discharged through a tail race channel into Wular Lake. The drop in elevation from the dam to the power station will afford a hydraulic head of 697 m (2,287 ft).[8] This Project is taken up by NHPC.

Benefits

In addition to generating 330 MW power, the diverted water from the Kishanganga River is used for the purpose of irrigation or to generate additional electricity from the downstream Lower Jhelum (105 MW), Uri (720 MW) and proposed Kohala (1100 MW) (in PaK) hydel projects located on the Jhelum River.[9]

Inauguration

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kishanganga power plant in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on the 19th of May, 2018. The 330MW Kishanganga hydropower station, work on which started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in the volatile state amid frosty ties between the nuclear-armed countries. "This region cannot only become self-sufficient in power but also produce for other regions of the country," Modi said in the state´s capital, Srinagar. "Keeping that in mind we have been working on various projects here for the past four years." Pakistan has opposed some of these projects, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.

Local Concerns

In 2013 local population of Bandipora protested against Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) executing the 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project in the area accused the company of causing severe damage to natural environment[10][11] and causing perilous pollution in the area. Following sustained protests by villagers in 2012 and 2013, the hydrology department of National Institute of Technology NIT conducted tests in the area and stated pollution had caused chemical disturbance in the water around the project site.The tests revealed high concentration of dissolved solids and unsafe alkaline levels in the water. "The polluted water can neither be used for the human consumption nor for washing purposes," the report cautioned.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "330 MW Kishanganga Power Project to be commissioned by Nov next". Daily Excelsior. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016. The sanctioned cost of project was Rs 3642.04 crore and revised cost has touched Rs 5783.17 crore
  2. ↑ "Kishenganga Power House PH01072". Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "CoA verdict on Kishanganga hydro power project".
  4. ↑ "The Indus Waters Treaty: caught between a dispute and a hard place". Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Pause and effect: What newest twist in Indus Treaty tale means". Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "NHPC's Kishanganga project fully commissioned". Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Narendra Modi inaugurates Kishanganga hydropower project in Kashmir".
  8. ↑ "Welcome to Kishenganga Project". NHPC Limited. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "Lower Jhelum Hydroelectric Project JH01065". Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  10. ↑ http://thekashmirscenario.com/2013/01/hindustan-construction-company-blasts-rules-regulations/
  11. ↑ http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/bandipora-gurez-residents-face-forced-migration-threat/157515.html
  12. ↑ http://thekashmirscenario.com/2013/01/hindustan-construction-company-blasts-rules-regulations/
  13. ↑ http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/bandipora-gurez-residents-face-forced-migration-threat/157515.html
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