Himachal: Larji Power Project restored and fully operational once again
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 18 (ANI): The 126 MW Larji Hydroelectric Power Project in Kullu district has been fully restored and is operational once again, which suffered extensive damage from the devastating Beas River floods on 9th and 10th July 2023, said an official statement on Sunday.
The project's swift revival, completed in less than two years, was made possible through the timely intervention and strong support of the State Government, helping avert major financial losses.
The State Government allocated Rs 25 crore initially for restoration, followed by Rs 35 crore and subsequently Rs 185.87 crore for the complete rehabilitation of the project. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu commended the engineers and staff of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) for their tireless efforts and commitment to restore the project.
Thanks to their dedication, Unit I of the Larji Power Project was restarted on 15 January 2024 and synchronized with the power grid on 2 May 2024. Unit II followed on 9 August 2024 and Unit III was restored on 17 January 2025. With all three turbines now operational, the project has fully resumed power generation.
The flood had caused heavy deposition of muck deep inside the turbine units, rendering them inoperable for several months. Since mechanical removal was not feasible, the debris was painstakingly cleared by manual effort. To safeguard the project from future natural calamities, several preventive measures have been implemented. Slope stabilisation work, including the installation of cable nets and rockfall barriers, has been completed near the surge shaft gates and is underway at the powerhouse entrance to mitigate risks from landslides and falling debris.
Additionally, a Hinged Gate has been installed at the Main Access Tunnel (MAT) to prevent water ingress during high floods. A similar gate is being constructed at the Emergency Exit Tunnel (EET), with supporting civil works to ensure a secure, watertight system.
In the year 1953, a significant flood occurred at the Larji Hydro Electric Project on the Beas River, which was a historical high flood. This flood, recorded on August 3, 1953, had a discharge of 3,838.37 cumec, whereas the flood that occurred in the year 2023, with a discharge of 5,600 cumec, significantly exceeded the 1953 flood. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Swiss firm Cabeltec SA discusses business opportunities in India during meeting with Piyush Goyal
Bern [Switzerland], June 9 (ANI): Cabeltec SA Co-Owner Frederic Leuba met Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who is on a two-day visit to Switzerland. They discussed possible business opportunities in India. The Group has expertise in cables and machinery. Speaking to ANI after the meeting, Frederic Leuba said he would give a though about investing on a factory and an office in India. "For the very fine wire, for the wire tech company, it would be more have all the knowledge here. But for the cable industry, maybe we could have in mind to create a factory or an office there," he said. "Since now we don't have a company in India. We (would) work with some companies in India. I cannot say where we already sold one machine, but I know some people in India, some friends in India, and I love the new people in India philosophy, and we have a very good impression to develop (in) the country," he added. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal commenced his official visit to Switzerland on Monday, as part of his ongoing visit to Switzerland and Sweden from June 9 to 13, 2025. "This visit underscores India's steadfast commitment to deepening strategic and economic partnerships with key European nations, advancing robust trade and investment ties, and supporting a shared vision for resilient global growth," his ministry said in a statement. The visit commenced in Switzerland today, where the Minister engaged with global CEOs and prominent industry leaders to explore opportunities for strengthening bilateral trade and investment. The itinerary includes focused sectoral meetings with prominent Swiss industry leaders in areas such as Pharma and Life Sciences, and Precision Engineering/Machine Tools/High-tech Manufacturing. The Minister will also connect with the ICAI Zurich Chapter and interact with Indian media. A significant highlight will be meeting with Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, fostering strong trade and diplomatic ties. "A significant component of the high-level visit to Switzerland will include a series of one-on-one meetings with leading Swiss companies. Indian industry representatives will also participate in these crucial engagements, fostering direct dialogue and exploring specific collaboration opportunities. The day will also feature participation in the Swissmem Industry Day and a Business Round Table with the Swiss Mechanical and Electrical (MEM) Industry, where deliberations will focus on the potential and opportunities arising from the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA)," the commerce ministry said in a statement. (ANI)
Economic Times
26 minutes ago
- Economic Times
How China's craze for Pakistani donkeys is crushing the cash-strapped country's poor
Ejiao demand fuels price hike Live Events Livelihood at stake Chinese interest and ethical concerns What about meat concerns? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Abdul Rasheed is in trouble. Last week, his donkey named Tiger, his only source of income, died in an accident. Without a donkey cart, Rasheed has no way to earn money. But buying a new donkey is now a big problem. Prices have shot up to as high as Rs 2 lakh in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan, far more than the Rs 30,000 he paid for Tiger eight years is not alone. Many other poor workers who rely on donkeys for their daily earnings are facing the same crisis. The reason? A growing demand from China, which uses donkey skin to make a traditional medicine called ejiao. It is believed to help with fatigue, improve immunity, reduce tumours, and treat ejiao industry has seen a huge boom. With not enough donkeys at home, Chinese buyers are turning to Pakistan, where donkeys are cheaper and easier to per a PTI report, Dr Guo Jing Feng, who runs a medical centre in Karachi, said China's need for donkey hides is only going to increase. 'This is now a global trade,' he explained, 'and China's demand is much higher than its supply.'Even in the Lyari market, Pakistan's biggest donkey market, prices have jumped. Rasheed says the cheapest healthy donkey he could find was Rs 1.55 lakh. 'How can I afford that? Even if I somehow buy one, what if it dies before I recover my investment?'Donkeys are vital for many industries in Pakistan, from brick kilns and agriculture to transport and even laundry services. Workers like Samad use them to carry heavy loads across rough roads, earning Rs 1,500–2,000 a day, half of which goes into feeding and caring for the around 5.9 million working donkeys, Pakistan is home to the third largest donkey population in the world, after Ethiopia and April 2025, a Chinese delegation met with Pakistan's food security minister to discuss setting up donkey farms. The idea is to use local labour for care and management, which could help Pakistan's not everyone agrees. Dr Asal Khan, a senior official from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said some Chinese companies had shown interest in exporting donkeys, but 'we are not allowing that to happen.'Donkey traders say some Chinese buyers are even willing to purchase weak animals just for their hides. In one case, a group paid Rs 40,000 each for 14 unhealthy issues also remain. Saleem Reza of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce says there must be strict rules. 'Donkey meat is haram for us,' he said. 'The government must ensure donkeys are not slaughtered in Pakistan and their meat is not sold illegally.'He added that proper factories are needed to manage hide and meat processing, to make sure nothing enters local markets from PTI
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
29 minutes ago
- Business Standard
NHAI to consider public InvIT to widen investor base, include retail buyers
Aiming to raise public funds for its asset monetisation pipeline, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday said it is considering a new infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) open to retail investors. 'NHAI has successfully launched private InvIT and monetised over 2,300 km of highways. NHAI is now considering launching public InvIT to increase the overall investor base, develop a competitive environment in the InvIT market, and mitigate the risk of a limited investor base. Further, public InvIT will also cater to retail investors, thereby providing access to infrastructure assets,' the highway authority said in its Asset Monetisation Strategy Report. Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari has repeatedly said over the past four years that he wants common citizens to benefit from rapid infrastructure expansion by allowing them to invest in highway projects via InvITs. However, officials said the process has turned out to be lengthy and complicated with tough regulations in place. In its report, NHAI did not confirm it will decisively go through with the proposal. InvITs are one of the three primary modes of highway monetisation used by NHAI, under which a trust manages several road assets and investors can benefit from toll revenues by becoming unitholders. As a department, NHAI has contributed significantly to the first National Monetisation Pipeline. It has achieved 71 per cent of NITI Aayog's NMP Road Sector Pipeline from 2021-22 to 2024-25 (Rs 1.15 trillion achieved out of a target of Rs 1.6 trillion). Total monetisation so far stands at Rs 1.4 trillion. The highways ministry is also likely to be given the steepest target of all government departments in the second monetisation pipeline, which will run up to 2029-30. It will likely have to monetise highways worth Rs 3.5 trillion over the next five years. The authority also mentioned an issue that had previously been a bone of contention between the private sector and government – the determination of Initial Estimated Concession Value (IECV). In 2020, the authority stopped declaring IECV of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) bundles, fearing a concentration of bids around the disclosed price. The sector responded that the disclosure of IECV was an important requirement, after which NHAI started disclosing the assumptions made to reach the IECV, but not the amount itself. Now, it plans to make the disclosure model more transparent. 'By aligning investor expectations with the potential performance of the asset, NHAI will aim to minimise risks and enhance the attractiveness of the investment opportunity through monetisation. Currently, NHAI declares macroeconomic factors such as interest rate, inflation, traffic and revenue growth rate, operating and maintenance expenditure, etc. NHAI will regularly review and update these factors to assist potential investors in preparing more realistic estimations,' it said. NHAI already has initiatives underway to increase the number and volume of ToT bundles and InvIT phases. Specifically, NHAI aims to offer three ToT bundles per quarter, including one smaller (Rs 2,000 crore), one medium (Rs 5,000 crore), and one large (Rs 9,000 crore) bundle, and to conduct one or two InvIT phases each year to cater to a broad spectrum of investors. NHAI will also assess market conditions in future and adjust bundle sizes accordingly, it said.
