General alert along Sutlej in Kinnuar and Shimla

Shimla, Aug 6 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Government today sounded a general alert along the banks of Sutlej River in Kinnuar district and upper areas of the Shimla district after water level in the Parechhu River, a tributary of Spiti and Sutlej, increased by five to eight feet today.

The resultant increase in the water level in the Sutlej was only one to two feet, while water discharge at the Nathpa Dam site was 1,412 cumecs, which was a cause for alarm, Kinnuar district SP Arvind Sharda told UNI here.

He said the alert was general in nature since the water level in Sutlej generally rises in the night, keeping people alert and vigilant.

However, the water discharge at Parechhu and Spiti Rivers was more, as compared to Sutlej at Khab, he said.

Meanwhile the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri remained closed for the 14th day today as the silt level in the reservoiur was 16,100 parts per million (PPM) against a permissible limit of 4,000 ppm.

The loss of the Nathpa Jhakri power project has so far caused a loss of over Rs 100 crore to the Central and the State Government, which has a 25 per cent stake in the plant.

The non generation of power has also affected the neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

UNI AS HS VA RK2042