Kathmandu. The water level of the Kulekhani Reservoir has risen rapidly due to continuous overnight rain. According to Deputy Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Madan Timsina, the water level of the reservoir reached 1,522.38 meters at 7:15 am on Friday morning.
According to Timsina, the water level of the reservoir has increased by more than 9 cm in the last one and a half hours. The highest water level of Kulekhani Reservoir is 1,530 meters.
According to this calculation, at 7:15 am, the water level of the reservoir is about 7.62 meters below the high water level. Due to continuous rain, the water level in the reservoir is increasing rapidly.
Kulekhani 1st, 2nd and 3rd hydropower projects are operated from Kulekhani Reservoir. The installed capacity of Kulekhani-1 is 60 MW. Earlier last year, the gates of the dam were partially opened after the water in the Kulekhani reservoir rose above 1,530 meters during heavy rains.
With the increase in the water level in the reservoir, the Kulekhani First Hydropower Center has intensified preparations for flood risk control and possible emergency situations. According to the Center, in coordination with the Load Dispatch Center (LDC) of the Nepal Electricity Authority, the plant has been operated at full capacity to prevent the water level in the Kulekhani Reservoir from rising further.
A more experienced team has been mobilized in the dam area and the diesel generator (DG) installed in the dam has been tested and checked and kept in good condition. According to the center, arrangements have been made for sirens that can be heard up to a distance of five kilometers under the dam control system.
In order to give advance information to the locals about possible emergency situations, information and awareness messages related to sounding of sirens have been flex printed and kept at Deurali, Simkhola, Heavy, Khanikhola and Sisneri police stations.
Likewise, arrangements have been made to enable the sirens in the lower coastal area of the dam to operate even if the power supply is interrupted. According to the center, diesel generators have been installed for the electric sirens installed in the Sisneri Police Station and the new buildings of Indrasarovar Rural Municipality located downstream of the dam.
Two hand sirens have also been distributed for immediate use in case of emergency. One of them has been handed over to the Khanikhet Temporary Police Station and the other to the heavy stationed team of the Armed Police Force.
Necessary mobile numbers have been collected so that if the gate of the dam needs to be opened, a notification can be sent through SMS. For this, the contact numbers of the district disaster management team, the focal person of Makwanpur rural municipality and the heads of various offices have been collected, the center said. Similarly, the project has also collected the mobile numbers of a large number of local residents living in the lower coastal areas.