NEEPCO closes gates of Doyang reservoir

GUWAHATI: North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) authorities in Nagaland have informed the Golaghat district administration that the four radial gates opened on July 27 to release excess rainwater from the reservoir of the Doyang hydro electric project were closed on Sunday morning.
Sources in the district administration told The Shillong Times that the NEEPCO authorities have communicated with them about the development in the wake of the water level in the reservoir receding below 324 metres at 5am on Sunday.
NEEPCO had through a press statement on Saturday clarified that the radial gates had to be opened in a controlled manner on July 27 after the inflow of water to the reservoir increased above the normal range following incessant rainfall.
The flood situation in Golaghat district in Upper Assam which had taken a serious turn in the past few days improved since Saturday even as thousands of affected villagers are taking shelter in the temporary camps put up along the national highway.
Over 100 villages in the district and more than 70,000 residents have been affected by the floods which were triggered primarily by incessant showers in the catchment areas of adjoining Wokha district in Nagaland.
District Disaster Management Authority sources confirmed that the water level of the Dhansiri river has receded but there were points where the water remained stagnant.
“The intake of water into the Dhansiri river has lessened as of now. But there are points from the centre of Golaghat town towards Khumtai and Bokakhat in the north where the floodwater still remains stagnant. If the weather holds up, it will take around one week for the water to recede completely,” a DDMA official told this correspondent.
Meanwhile, the district administration has reportedly permitted resumption of normal vehicular movement along national highway 37.