Srisailam, Oct 8 :
Andhra Pradesh Genco Managing Director Vijayanand on Thursday stated that the repair works to the 770-MW right bank power station, which was inundated by the unprecedented floods at Srisailam, will take at least four months time. Talking to media persons after convening a high level review meeting with officials to review the situation after the flood waters submerged 770 MW power house of Srisailam Hydro Power Project, he said that the dam has seen a record inflow which almost threatened the very existence of the dam.Anticipating trouble, the officials shutdown both the 770 MW power house on the right bank and 900 MW underground power house on the left bank of the reservoir on October 1 night itself, he explained.
He said the officials are taking steps to pump out water and silt that has entered the power station. Only after the water is pumped out, it would be possible to analyse the extent of damage and the time it would take to be fully restored. Fives gates of power station are also washed out in the flood waters, he pointed out.When the plant got submerged in October 1998 floods, it took about 10 days for the AP Genco to pump out the water and over two months for the BHEL to salvage the equipment and restore it, he said.
The total cost incurred by the government at that time to restore the unit was over Rs 70 crore. This time, the cost is expected to be over Rs 100 crore and may take four months to restore it, he explained.