*- The district administration will get the report studied by an expert team*
A detailed review meeting regarding desilting of Sutlej river in Sunni area was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap.
At the meeting, NTPC and the Public Works Department submitted their respective reports to the Deputy Commissioner. These reports will now be studied in detail. Only after that will a plan for desilting work be formulated.
Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap stated that for the past three years, the Sutlej River’s water level has been rising in the Sunni region, posing a threat to surrounding areas during the monsoon. The administration is taking extensive steps to protect the people of the Koldam-affected area. In this regard, future plans will be prepared based on reports from NTPC and the Public Works Department. The report will be studied by experts, and only after this will further action be taken.
He said that we must take futuristic steps to address the challenges of rising water levels. Detailed on-the-ground studies are underway. A meeting will be held again this month in Sunni to discuss desilting the Sutlej River. The dam has endangered many villages. People’s lands are being submerged by the rising water levels.
Additional District Magistrate Pankaj Sharma, SDM Sunni, top officials of NTPC and officials of other departments were present in the meeting.
*Public Works Department Report*
In its report, the Public Works Department has detailed the changes to the Sutlej River bed since the construction of the Koldam. The Koldam was commissioned on March 30, 2015. Its operational life is 30 years. Its minimum elevation level is set at 636 meters. In 2018-19, the dam’s rising water levels and silt accumulation caused by the dam caused damage to the infrastructure and the Chaba Hydropower Station. Approximately 70 meters of the Chaba suspension bridge were damaged. Severe erosion has occurred at several locations on the Shimla Mandi road. NTPC had deposited ₹172 lakh for the repair of the said road. This repair work was completed in 2019. Meanwhile, in 2023, the Chaaba Bridge collapsed again, estimated to cost approximately ₹15 crore (₹15 crore). The government ITI campus in Sunni suffered significant damage this year. The Forest Department’s rest house and cowshed were also swept away by the river. The Shimla Mandi road also collapsed in several places this year. The Thali Bridge was also damaged due to rising water levels. The state government funded its repairs at a cost of ₹1.5 crore (₹1.5 crore). In 2025, on July 21st, the Thali Bridge suffered approximately ₹5 lakh worth of damage. Subsequent damage occurred on August 13th. The estimated cost for repairing the bridge’s raising deck is ₹8 crore (₹8 crore). The estimated cost for repairing the Shimla Mandi road is ₹29 crore (₹29 crore).
The Public Works Department in its report mentioned the following:
– Rapid siltation, rise in river beds and average water levels.
-Bank erosion, road washout and submergence of low-lying structures.
-Further rise in water level may submerge the PSC Cantilever Bridge in Tattapani, Sunni and Tattapani towns.
-Till now Tattapanani bridge and Shimla Mandi Road, suspension bridge in Thali, Sunni and Tattapanani town are getting damaged every year.
*NTPC report*
NTPC stated in its report that a team from IIT Roorkee conducted a detailed study of the silt in the Sutlej River. The study spanned the period from 2014 to 2024, using remote sensing, GIS, and multi-date, multi-sensor satellite data. The silt studied covered Zone One (Tattapani), Zone Two (Sunni), and Zone Three (Chaba). According to the report, changes in silt were observed after 2021. No changes were observed between 2014 and 2021. Heavy floods in 2022 and 2023 have altered morphological features. Visible sediment accumulation has occurred upstream of Sunni, Tattapani, and Sutlej. In 2023, 2,861 million cubic meters of seepage was recorded, the highest since the Koldam was commissioned. In the same year, silt concentration has been recorded at 7120 parts per million.
In Zone 1, Tattapani, silt was recorded at 7 hectares in 2022 and 27 hectares in 2023. In Zone 2, Sunni, silt was recorded at 0.5 hectares in 2022 and 10 hectares in 2023. In Zone 3, Chaaba, silt increased from 1.7 hectares in 2022 to 8 hectares in 2023. The Koldam was first closed on July 11, 2023 due to silt.
