Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, February 10
A dozen villages along the banks of the Pinder, a tributary of the Alaknanda in Uttarakhand, will be saved from submergence, with the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) redesigning the 300 MW Devsari hydroelectric project as a three-stage run-of-the-river scheme of almost double capacity.
It was originally designed as a storage project with a 90 m high dam at Nand Kesari.
The creation of the huge reservoir would have led to the displacement of over 12,000 people due to submergence of low-lying villages, including the block headquarters.
SJVN engineers decided to redesign the project to save the people from being uprooted. [more]