Kolkata: Damodar Valley Corporation has for the first time in nearly seven decades initiated a comprehensive de-siltation of its Maithon and Panchet dams — a move aimed at restoring their water storage capacity and reducing the risk of flooding in the lower Damodar basin caused by water releases during heavy monsoon spells.Uncontrolled releases from Maithon and Panchet have repeatedly caused inundation across parts of Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Burdwan and Bankura in south Bengal, particularly when torrential rain fills catchment areas and forces high inflows from upstream reservoirs such as Jharkhand’s Tenughat Dam.“De-siltation will improve the water-retaining capacity of the dams and chances of inundation due to water release will reduce significantly,” a DVC official said.Maithon dam’s original capacity of around 1,200 MCM (million cubic metres) at its completion in 1957 has fallen to around 800 MCM — a reduction of 30%-35% due to sediment accumulation.A recent expert survey estimated 353 crore cubic feet of sand in the Maithon reservoir alone. The reservoir was assessed across three zones — dead, live and flood — with nearly 57% of the dead zone estimated to have been filled with silt.“We are planning dredging and our engineers are preparing schemes. We will take up de-siltation of Maithon first and then Panchet,” said DVC chairperson Rajesh Pandey.The exercise also presents a commercial opportunity. With sand prices rising steadily in Bengal and availability tightening following a crackdown on illegal sand mining at river ghats, the extracted material can be processed and used for construction.“The state government too could benefit through royalty and other revenue streams,” the DVC official added.
