Kerala State Electricity Board prepares SOP for dam desilting work

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the state irrigation department starting desilting work of Mangalam dam in Palakkad, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) too has decided to carry out desilting of reservoirs manned by the board.
As part of the move, KSEB has readied a standard operating procedure (SOP) to be followed by the board for carrying out desilting work. More than the proceedings from the sale of sand and sediment being scooped out from the bed of the reservoir, desilting would help reservoirs regain their original storage capacity. According to sources close to the developments in the board, KSEB would soon start desilting work in small and medium size dams.
KSEB has prepared the SOP based on the one stitched together by the irrigation department some time ago. However, the board customized it with additions and omissions relevant to the board. KSEB would seek technical assistance for desilting work from various state and central government agencies as well as IIT Palakkad and NIT Kozhikode.
According to the SPO, based on the volume of sediments to be removed from the dams, duration of desilting work would take 36 to 48 months.
Instead of the dam safety authority as in the case of dams under the irrigation department, the desilting work in reservoirs under KSEB would be monitored by the board itself.
In the light of the experience that irrigation department has come across from the Mangalam dam desilting work, KSEB has dumped one of the conditions incorporated in the irrigation department’s SOP that no stalking/processing of desilted materials shall be allowed in the reservoir/project area.