Panic after Nippon hydel project pipe bursts in Darjeeling

Penstock burst at Fincheytar Lodhoma: Photo courtesy Vikram Rai

HT, 24 Aug 2016: DARJEELING: Fincheytar, a remote settlement of Darjeeling, had a narrow escape after the intake pipe of the Lodhoma Hydro Power Project of Nippon Hydel Project burst. 

Located at Bijanbari Block and situated 70km from Darjeeling, it is the first private hydro power project in Bengal. According to local residents, the intake pipe which is 4 km long and 4 ft in diameter feeds the reservoir tank supplying water from the Rittu Khola and Kalpokhari. 

“The pipe burst and water rose up to 500ft. Had the water entered the main settlement many houses would have been washed away” a local resident said. The swift flowing water damaged the road leading to Dilpa village. 

“There is no report of any loss of life or injury. There is no immediate threat. We are keeping a close watch on the situation” said district magistrate Anurag Shrivastava. 

Prakash Gurung, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) member of the Lhodama constituency, has demanded immediate intervention of the state government.

“Due to utter negligence, the accident has occurred. The pipe was leaking earlier and despite repeated complaints Nippon did not take any action. There could have been a major catastrophe. There is also leakage in the reservoir tank. The government should initiate action against the company.”

Read: PTI, Darjeeling (WB), July 20 : Three members of a family were killed at Fincheytaar in Darjeeling Hills when landslide struck their home due to persistent rains last night.
Man Kumar Limbu (25), Pengkit Limbu (23) and their 7-year-old child Anish Limbu were sleeping when boulders rolled over their hutment during heavy rains.
The hutment, falling in Lodhoma Gram Panchayat 2 on a steep hilly slope, is above Nippon Micro Hydro Project near Basbotay on the way to Mishima.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Also Read :Business Standard, November 5, 1997: The first private sector hydroelectric power project in West Bengal is slated to be commissioned by the end of 1999. The power purchase agreement for the project was signed here between the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) and the Nippon Power Limited of the Rs 25 crore Saraogi group.

The power station is being set up on the Lodhama river which is a tributary of the Rammam river. WBSEB has already constructed a 51 mw hydroelectric power station on the Rammam river. The new site is about 5 km from the Rammam project, and, is about 70 km from Darjeeling and 150 km from Siliguri.
This will be the group's first foray into the power sector. However, it is already negotiating several other small hydroelectric power projects in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. It is also looking at the possibilities of exploiting other small hydro projects in Bengal.
This will be a small 3 mw project costing Rs 15.5 crore. P C Saraogi of Nippon Power said that the Beijing Science & Technology Group had offered to set up this project on a turnkey basis. But, the Chinese offer at Rs 20 crore was much more expensive.
Nippon Power is yet to finalise the sourcing of the three generating units of 1 mw each. But, the supply will be totally indigenous.
The power station is expected to generate 17 million units of energy a year. The tariff has been fixed at Rs 2.25 which will increase at the rate of 4 paise a unit every year. WBSEB will buy power for the next 25 years, according to the power purchase agreement.
The project is being financed with 3:1 debt equity ratio. The loan will come from the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency at a subsidised interest rate of five per cent only. The union ministry for Non-Conventional Energy Sources will provide the subsidy.
WBSEB is negotiating with two other private promoters for a new concept in power generation and supply.
The private entrepreneurs will generate power at the Darjeeling hills and inject the energy into the Board's network. The power will be delivered at any point chosen by the entrepreneur in the plains.
This is a new concept and is known as banking of power. The power generator deposits the power with the Board and withdraws when and where power is required.
Indian Rayon is keen to set up a captive 20 mw hydel plant while the Texmaco Industries is negotiating for a small 2.4 mw hydro unit. Indian Rayon wants the power delivered at its Rishra factory while Texmaco wants the power at its Belghoria unit.
The West Bengal government has taken a policy decision to charge a wheeling charge at the rate of two per cent of the tariff for any captive power project from non-conventional sources under 3 mw.
The wheeling charge for bigger projects will depend on the actual cost of transmission since there may be some energy loss between the power input and output points and different transmission voltage at the two points.
The power station is being set up on the Lodhama river which is a tributary of the Rammam river. WBSEB has already constructed a 51 mw hydroelectric power station on the Rammam river. The new site is about 70 km from Darjeeling.