Kalpsar lake update

The plan to create a massive sweet water reservoir in the sea, by cutting off the Gulf of Khambhat by a massive dam, has been scaled down to increase its viability. The re-designed Kalpsar project will involve shifting the massive dam 15 km northwards. The decision to redesign the dam has been taken by the Gujarat government following a positive report submitted by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, on Saturday. The new alignment of the dam — between Kalatalav village in Bhavnagar and Aladar village in Bharuch — will mean the length of the wall will be reduced from the proposed 64 km to 34 km. The new plan has sounded the death knell for the proposed Dholera port project. However, according to officials, it will give a lease of life to Dahaj port and pave the way for building a new greenfield port south of Bhavnagar. Till now, the project entailed building a 64-km dam across the gulf, from Hansot in Bharuch to Ghogha in Bhavnagar. But the latest NIO study suggests a smaller reservoir — reduced from 2,200 sq km to 2,000 sq km, would be more viable. Officials argued that the problem of less draft for building a port south of Bhavnagar would also get sorted out after Kalpsar is built. The government is in the process of identifying a new site for a port which will feed the Dholera special investment region (SIR). The SIR’s six-lane spine road will end at this port. The dam itself will pass through a partially submerged island Mal Bet, situated in mid-sea. Mal Bet will also ensure that the dam’s foundations do not have to go too deep, thus reducing the costs. The redesigned Kalpsar would cost around Rs 55,000 crore, recoverable by reclaiming and selling 2.2 lakh hectares, to be made available along the banks of the closed gulf after the dam keeps out the high tide. Narmada canal to pump water into lake .The Narmada river, which was supposed to bring in sweet water into the reservoir, has been left out under the redesigned Kalpsar. Instead, the plan is to build a new canal from the Narmada main canal to pump in fresh water into the artificial lake during the monsoon. Water will also flow into the dam from Sabarmati, Mahi and other rivers. “The lake would sustain over a longer period of time because we are excluding the Narmada river, which would have brought nearly 85 per cent of upstream silt,” an official said. The new design envisages a barrage near Bharbhut from where a new 35-km-long canal will be built to transport Narmada waters into the lake.