Chhattisgarh opens 64 gates of Kalma barrage; Hirakud water level likely to rise

Once again the arbitrary move of Chhattisgarh has come to the fore after the neighbouring state opened all gates of Kalma barrage, sparking fear over rise in water-level of Hirakud dam in Odisha.

It is pertinent to here that Chhattisgarh had earlier opened the gates of Kalma barrage ahead of the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal’s visit. Both Odisha and Chhattisgarh have been at loggerheads over non-release of water by the latter during the non-monsoon period. Chhattisgarh is also accused of not sharing information to Odisha regarding the release of water.

Moreover, Odisha had also accused Chhattisgarh of releasing water only during the monsoon period following incessant rain. Now the Chhattisgarh has opened all the 64 gates of Kalma barrage in view of the heavy rainfall in the past several days.

With the release of the water, the inflow of water in Hirakud stood at 71000 cusecs at around 9 am today. The water level of Hirakud is 603.50 ft and 1.18 lakh cusecs of water is entering Mahanadi through the Kalma barrage.