A total of 36 villages of Golaghat district have been reeling under flood waters due to discharge of water from the dam of the Doyang Hydroelectric Project (DHEP) located in Wokha district of Nagaland. This has triggered panic among the affected villagers in the district.
The DHEP authority opened its sluice gates on Friday to discharge excess water of the Doyang reservoir which keeps on increasing due to the incessant rains that have been continuing for the last couple of days in Wokha.
“Villages under Sarupathar, Golaghat, Merapani, Morangi and Khumtai revenue circles have been inundated by flood waters affecting 887.9 hectares of crop land and a population of 5575. We have set up seven relief camps which are presently accommodating 1161 inmates. One battalion of NDRF and four groups of SDRF are being deployed to carry out rescue operation in these areas,” said Rony Rajkumar, project officer of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Golaghat.
Also read: Golaghat, Jorhat; five districts in Nagaland on alert as Doyang overflows
“The DHEP authority has informed us that once the water level in the Doyang reservoir comes below 324 meter, they will close the gates. They have also refuted all the rumours about the vulnerability of the dam due to the flood,” Rajkumar said.
“As informed by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) authority due to continuous rains in the catchment area, the water level of Doyang reservoir has been on the rise. In the meantime, all the gates are open for release of excess water from the dam,” said Nina Barua, district information and public relations officer of Golaghat district.
Barua added, “The inflow of water in Doyang reservoir is very high, therefore to maintain the balance of water in the reservoir, the water is being released. They (NEEPCO authority) have also informed that the release of water is not the stored water from Doyang dam but the excess water in the reservoir.”
On the other hand, the district unit of the All Assam Students’ Union on Tuesday threatened to carry out mass agitation against the NEEPCO if they don’t provide compensation to the flood affected people of the district. They demanded the NEEPCO authority to arrange for proper medical treatment, food items and animal food in the affected areas at the earliest.
The North Eastern Council (NEC) sponsored Doyang Hydroelectric Project utilises discharge from Doyang river, a sub-tributary of the Brahmaputra. The project with an installed capacity of 75 MW was commissioned in 2000.