NMC to undertake complete dewatering of Ambazari lake but questions remain
| Date :19-Jan-2024 |
Staff Reporter
NAGPUR Municipal Corporation (NMC) will soon take up the task of dewatering Ambazari lake at the earliest as part of the effort to safeguard the lake and avoid recurrence of the flooding as witnessed in September 2023. However, it may prove to be a challenging task. At the same time, Water Resources Department (WRD) has been tasked with conducting a detailed study as to what portion of Swami Vivekanand Memorial has to be removed or relocated. These two major decisions were taken in the first meeting of the High-level Committee constituted as per the directions of the High Court to clear encroachments along Naag river which were causing flooding in areas including at the source -- Ambazari lake. The meeting was held on January 10. All the members including the chairperson Vijayalakshmi Bidari, Divisional Commissioner; Dr Abhijit Chaudhari, Municipal Commissioner and Member Secretary of the committee; Dr P K Pawar, Chief Engineer, WRD; Dr Vipin Itankar, District Collector; Hema Deshpande, Regional officer of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board; Pramod Gawande, President, Heritage Committee of NMC; and others attended the meeting.
The minutes of the meeting were placed before the High Court during a hearing held on Wednesday. As per the minutes of the meeting, NMC is to soon take up the task of dewatering of Ambazari lake. In the meeting, NMC was also asked to take care of removal of all the hindrances pointed out by the WRD before or during the execution of the works proposed in Phase-2. The timeline of this will be conveyed by NMC in the next meeting of the High-level Committee scheduled on January 24. However, sources familiar with the issue said that dewatering the huge lake is a challenging task. The downstream dewatering is easier than dewatering upstream. Ambazari lake supplies water to Ordnance Factory Ambajhari and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area. Considering the expanse of the lake, dewatering may take at least three months. The complex process may extend into summer.
Ordnance Factory Ambajhari and MIDC area will have to make arrangement for water from other source/s during the summer because the entire lake area may not get fresh water before monsoon. This can be a big challenge, said an officer, on the condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, another major part is the task given to WRD -- to conduct detailed study of the Krazy Castle with respect to hydraulics, and Swami Vivekanand Memorial. The study has to be conducted considering all the changes being carried out now. The WRD has been asked to submit the report specifically on what portion of Swami Vivekanand Memorial structure will have to be removed or relocated, and the widening of the nullah in Krazy Castle for the smooth flow of water. Conducting study may not be a problem, but removal or relocation of portion of Swami Vivekanand Memorial will require funds for finding relocation site and then beautifying it.
Works to be done in four phases
The entire work of safety, strengthening, and beautification of Ambazari dam amounting to Rs 21.07 crore has been divided into four phases as per the priority. In Phase-I, construction of RCC retaining wall on the right side of the steel channel of dam requires estimated cost of Rs 1,82,71,249/-, power structure work and construction of cut-off wall on the lower side of the dam drain requiring Rs 1,00,69,333/-.
Phase-2 comprises construction of toe drain on the lower side of the dam’s perimeter entailing an expenditure of Rs 84,03,748/-, and repair of the asphalt on the right side of the dam and construction of ash panel on the lower side as well as repair and strengthening of the dam bed at the cost of Rs 3,58,84,667/-. Phase-3 comprises construction of bridge and road at the estimated cost of Rs 7,54,70,277/-. Phase-4 comprises installation of railing after giving curb wall on both the lower sides of the dam’s perimeter at the cost of Rs 2,86,93,739/-, construction of Viewing Gallery below and above the dam requiring expenditure of Rs 64,38,842/-, and closure of existing construction of the dam’s main discharge at the cost of Rs 25 lakh.
Thus, the total estimated cost of various works in four phases works out to be Rs 18,56,31,855/-. An amount of Rs 2,50,60,988/- will be required as payment of additional charges at 10 per cent for the agency, additional charges for vetting, and additional charges at 1 per cent for quality control testing. Already, as submitted by the Divisional Commissioner before the High Court, the works of Phase-I have been completed and NMC has borne the cost for the same. The tender for the works in Phase-2 are ‘inn pipeline’. The first call of the tender evoked no response. In the second call of the tender, five bidders participated. After evaluation of the bids, the work order is expected to be issued within 20-25 days, and WRD will take all possible measures to complete the works before the onset of monsoon this year.