Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik recently inaugurated, through video conference, three power transmission elements in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.
The three facilities in question are:
- 220/132/33kV grid substation at Baner
- Feeder line to Badkurtu village
- Feeder line to Ladugaon village
These new transmission facilities will enable direct power evacuation from the 600-mw Indravati hydropower project, benefitting some 30,000 consumers from over 120 villages spread over the Jaipatna, Koksara and Kalampur blocks of Kalahandi district.
Hitherto, power generated from Indravati project, was directly supplied to four circuits— Bhubaneswar, Bhanjnagar, Narendrapur and Thirivali—through the power grid.
From Thiruvali so far power was being supplied to Kalahandi district through Kesinga grid at 132kV level. Now, with the commissioning of 220/132/33kV grid substation at Baner, consumers of Kalahandi will get the direct power supply from Indravati, for the very first time.
The Odisha CM said that the power supply problem of Kalahandi will be solved and voltage will be stabilized. It is a big transformation in the energy sector. The facility will be extended to other parts of the district in a phased manner. This will help in agriculture and industrialisation, he said.
Indravati HEP
The 600-mw Indravati multipurpose hydropower project, equipped with four units of 150-mw each, is the largest hydropower project in Odisha. The first two units were commissioned in 1999 while the third and fourth units turned operational in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The project is spread over the drought-prone districts of Kalahandi and Nawrangpur.
Though conceived in 1978, the Indravati project gained momentum only after it was taken over by Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (OHPC) in 1996. The project suffered great setbacks in its early years. In 1991, there was a “tunnel tragedy” that caused loss of lives of workers and subsequent project implementation delays. Even World Bank (one of the key project financiers) abruptly withdrew from the project. According to information available, on July 28, 1991, the coffer dam constructed at the intake of the head-race tunnel of the Indravati project breached. About 15 employees of the contracting company were trapped in the tunnel at the time of the flooding, and were ultimately found dead.
(Featured photograph, sourced from the official website of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd, shows an overview of the Indravati hydropower project)
