NEEPCO Orders People To Stay Away From Ranganadi Dam As Monsoon Approaches

ITANAGAR: As the monsoon season is approaching, high risk is associated with the people living in the area near the Ranganadi Dam in Arunachal Pradesh.

In view of this, the state-owned NEEPCO (North Eastern Electrical Power Corporation) issued a circular with a warning on Monday 4 April 2022.

In the circular, the power company wrote that the water level in the electricity generating Ranganadi Dam is likely to get dangerous over the monsoon in the coming months.

The company further warned that those people living downstream need needs to be aware and should stay away and on violating the order they will be facing serious incidents at their own risk.

As per the circular, the corporation will not be responsible for any kind of losses that people may face during the flood events in the area due to the rising water level in the dam.

It may be mentioned that earlier in 2017 when Assam's Lakhimpur district was hit by heavy floods, the affected people blamed the Ranganadi Dam for the worsened condition.

The main reservoir of the dam is located in Arunachal Pradesh's Yazali town and the stored water from there is transferred via an artificial channel from the Ranganadi River to Assam's Dikrong River.

In the circular by NEEPCO, it stated that water would be released gradually to ensure that it does not spill over at the time of monsoon.

However, during the flash flood, the reservoir water outlet and the gates of the diversion dam will be opened at once and there will be no gradual release as per the 4th April circular.

So people residing downstream from the diversion dam and reservoir must take must initiative to keep their livestock away and shift from the region to avoid risk with their lives.

It was also warned that people living in the areas of Dikrong river and Ranganadi river are also at risk of flash floods and therefore they should stay away.

Meanwhile, the local residents are left with no choice as they can either vacate the land and lose their livelihoods or stay and risk their lives.

The project coordinator of ASDMA (Assam State Disaster Management Authority) said that they were not aware of the circular even after a week it was issued by the power company.

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