SWABI: A press release issued by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said on Tuesday that there was no threat to the integrity of Tarbela Dam or any of its critical structures a day after a rock collapse at the 5th Extension Project (T-5) site caused a surge of water to enter nearby work areas.
On Monday, a rock mass collapsed at the T-5 construction site. An emergency was declared following the collapse; construction work was suspended and workers were directed to move to safer areas. However, no loss of life was reported in the incident.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the authority said Wapda Chairman retired Lt Muhammad Saeed visited the site on Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the incident to review the situation.
“The chairman visited … the intake structure, tunnel, power house and other important sites of the project. The consultants, contractor and Wapda project management briefed him on the current situation and the measures taken so far,” it said.
Following this, the chairman presided over a meeting at the project site, where the possible causes of the incident were discussed in detail, it added.
“Short, medium and long term preventive measures to handle such situations and strategies to address the current issue were deliberated upon. Immediate response measures were also finalised and their execution initiated,” it said.
“However, the consultants, contractor and Wapda teams were unanimous in their assessment that, as of now, there is no threat to the integrity of main Tarbela dam or any of its critical structures,” the statement said.
According to the handout, the Wapda chairman directed the consultants to submit a detailed report covering all aspects of the incident at the earliest. He further directed the consultants, contractor and Wapda project team to execute remedial measures immediately, and to finalise the contingency plan to minimise the delay in the overall completion of the project due to the incident. He also ordered a departmental inquiry to probe the incident.
“The Ministry for Water Resources had also sought initial assessment report of the incident from Wapda which has been submitted today,” it said, adding that the Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Mueen Watto had also been briefed by the Wapda chairman.
Meanwhile, Wapda engineers and technical team were busy restoring and repairing the damaged parts of the project on Tuesday, according to officials.
“The public should know that the situation is completely under control and no one should worry about the incident,” Swabi Deputy Commissioner Nasarullah Khan said.
He said that he, the deputy commissioner of Haripur and the officials concerned were dealing with the situation under a coordinated strategy.
DC Nasarullah said that the increase in the flows of the Indus River downstream had been authorised by Wapda’s technical team under safety and technical measures.
Separately, an official present at the site of the project urged the public not to pay heed to unconfirmed reports and to refer only to information from official sources.
Source: dawn
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