News from Bangladesh, Tuesday April 06 2004 01:22:28 AM BDT
Tareq Al Naser
A high-profile committee has detected cracks at the underground layers
of the multi-million dollar Kaptai hydroelectric dam and suggested
immediate formation of an expert committee for proper investigation.
The committee, formed to prepare a set of suggestions to minimise risks
of damages in the power sector from major earthquakes, also identified
five damaged transmission towers of the Power Grid Company Ltd in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs).
"The cracks might have developed in the underground layers of the
hydroelectric dam due to recent earthquakes. An expert committee should
be formed urgently to investigate whether such changes would affect the
dam or not," said a member of the committee during submission of its
report Monday.
State Minister for Power Iqbal Hasan Mahmood received the report and
exchanged views with the committee members. Secretary M Shamsul Alam and
Power Development Board (PDB) Chairman Sayed Abdul Mayeed were also
present on the occasion.
Last August 6, the Power Ministry formed the committee with the director
general of the Meteorological Department at its helm to prepare the
report with recommendations on ways to reduce the extent of damages in
the event of any major future tremor in the region.
Other members of the 10-member committee include a professor of the
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), chief
engineers of the Power Development Board (PDB) regions concerned and an
official of the Power Ministry.
Last July 27, a 20-second quake measuring 5.09 in the Richter scale with
its epicentre located 186 km off the Chittagong city damaged a
transformer of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh in Hathazari.
The tremor, the latest in a string of over 100 quakes that jolted the
region in the past three and a half years, was the strongest since 1997.
The quake created cracks in 500 houses and left 25 persons injured.
Sources said the members of the committee visited the quake-hit areas in
Chittagong, Rangamati and Sylhet to investigate the damages in the power
supply and distribution system to prepare the report and
recommendations.
The committee in its report suggested undertaking a long-term plan,
including introduction of modern maintenance system, to protect the
country's power plants from earthquakes, the possibility of which had
heightened in the country.
"Power plants, specially those located in the quake-prone Chittagong and
Sylhet zones, are at high risks and even a medium tremor could lead to
an immense loss to the country's power sector," the report said.
"Designs of the power plants should be changed and modern maintenance
system should be adopted to protect the power plants of Chittagong and
Sylhet regions from quakes," the report suggested.