The storage capacity of Hirakud dam is gradually decreasing, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the assembly in a written reply to a query from MLA Prasanna Acharya. Majhi said during construction of Hirakud dam, its water storage capacity was 6.6 million acre-feet. This capacity is gradually decreasing due to inflow of sediments from the upper catchment of Hirakud mixing with water, which is a natural process. To counteract this, soil conservation initiatives are being implemented in the upper catchment area of Hirakud, specifically in the river basin of Odisha.
Additionally, the state of Chhattisgarh, which is part of the upper catchment of Hirakud, has been requested by the Mahanadi subcommittee of the national committee on dam safety (NCDS) to implement soil conservation measures in their river basin, he said. TNN