Hirakud Loses 1.82 Million Acre-Feet Storage Capacity

Hirakud reservoir has lost 1.82 million acre-feet of its original water storage capacity, mainly due to years of silt accumulation, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Odisha Assembly.
Replying to a question from Rengali MLA Sudarshan Haripal, Majhi said the reservoir has lost 1.01 million acre-feet of dead storage and 0.81 million acre-feet of live storage compared with its original capacity.
According to the 1957 project report, Hirakud had a total storage capacity of 6.60 million acre-feet, including 1.88 million acre-feet of dead storage and 4.72 million acre-feet of live storage.

A 2000 assessment, however, showed the capacity had fallen to 4.78 million acre-feet, with dead storage at 0.87 million acre-feet and live storage at 3.91 million acre-feet.
The decline has been linked to the continuous deposition of silt in the reservoir. Haripal also asked about plans to remove the accumulated silt, but the government’s reply did not mention any specific desiltation programme.
In a separate question, the Chief Minister said the state government has not prepared a digital database of people displaced by the Hirakud project.
Haripal said continued siltation could affect irrigation and flood management and called for urgent steps to assess and protect the reservoir’s remaining storage capacity.