AGARTALA, May 16 (TIWN): Dumbur Hydro-electric project stands as futile after the project was declared to be closed for unspecific period of time few days back. Water pressure has gone down excessively in River Gomati here adding the biggest woe of the power problems.Talking to TIWN on Saturday over telephone TSECL’s Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) S K Roy said that the water pressure has gone down excessively in River Gomati here adding the biggest woo of the issue. But the Dumbur Hydro-electric project is likely to stat from the month of June, CMD mentioned. The Dumbur hydroelectric project was commissioned in 1976 with an installed capacity of generating 10MW from its two units. A third unit of 5MW was subsequently installed in 1984 as a standby.But the project has been jinxed from the start: It never generated power to capacity and during the last several years, the project has become unviable because of heavy siltation of the lake owing to large scale soil erosion from two surrounding hill ranges that have been heavily deforested.The project came to a grinding halt as the water level in the lake dipped and the turbines cannot get sufficient water to generate power.Considering the viability of the project, the state government has decided to abandon it and convert the 44 islands in Dumbur lake as well as land close to indigenous hamlets into tourist spots.

“There was a time when 40 of the 42 square km of the lake was a vast expanse of water but now the water level cannot be retained beyond 20 square km.

So, while the task of restoring the lake will continue, we will try to turn the lake, its 44 islands as well as its picturesque environment into tourist spots,” said a Tourism Department official. He pointed out that the Dumbur lake area and nearby Gomati wildlife sanctuary are favourite haunts of migratory birds from Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the country that will attract people.