The Indian embassy said the Dhauliganga Hydroelectric Power Station is a run-of-the river project based on a small daily reservoir without any change in the storage level. “Due to the heavy rainfall in the catchment area on June 16, 2013, a larger inflow passed through the dam. Power generation thereafter came to a complete halt, with both the dam and the power-house plant being submerged and coming under heavy silting,” said a statement issued by the embassy. [break]
According to the statement, the link roads to the dam have also been washed away. “The question of India releasing the dam water simply does not arise. It follows, therefore, that the Dhauliganga has no impact on monsoon-related flooding in the downstream areas of India and Nepal,” the statement further said, adding that the Indian side also suffered a huge loss of lives and property as a result of the heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. “Relevant agencies of the government of India are working closely in coordination with those of the government of Nepal to deal with the situation,” the Indian embassy said.
Indian side cooperating fully: Foreign Ministry
The Nepal government has also refuted allegations that the Indian side had released water of Dhauliganga dam, thereby leaving the downstream villages inundated. “We are in continuous touch with the Indian side at the official, personal as well as local level. If we see the losses, the Indian side has also suffered unimaginable losses,” said Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai. He also said that the Indian side has been cooperating fully with the Nepali authorities.
Addressing a regular press briefing at the foreign ministry on Friday, Joint Secretary Kali Prasad Pokharel, who heads the South Asia Division, said they had made a written request to the Indian embassy on June 17 to release water in such a way that it would not affect the villages downstream the river. “Since there was no contact between the CDO and his Indian counterpart, MoFA had coordinated that from the center,” he said.
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