Thaindian News

Raipur, June 26 (IANS) Faced with a rare water crisis that could hit production, state-run steel manufacturing unit Bhilai Steel Plant is now seeking the Chhattisgarh government’s help for making alternative arrangements for water.
“It’s a rare crisis. The plant’s two reservoirs, Maroda one and two, are literally dried up and if the state government does not make alternative arrangements, it is likely to hit production,” a senior plant official told IANS Friday.

The plant, the flagship unit of state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), has water stocks left hardly for eight days to feed its plant and the nearby township, he said.

The official added that the unit, located in Bhilai town, some 30 km away from here, needed 0.34 million cubic metre water daily for both its plant and township.

“But the stocks at Maroda reservoirs had come down to a critical level as there is no rainfall,” he added.

As the arrival of monsoon is expected to delay further, the plant’s water resource department has asked the state government to release water from the Gangrel dam, located in Dhamtari district, some 60 km from the plant site.

“Now the situation is extremely critical, but the Chhattisgarh government has assured to make arrangements to avoid production being hit by water scarcity,” the official added.

Sources with the state water resources department confirmed that it would take steps to ensure production remained unaffected at the Bhilai plant.

The plant had seen record production last fiscal. It produced 5.4 million tonnes of hot metal, 5.2 million tonnes of crude steel and 4.5 million tonnes of saleable steel in 2008-09.

It has a target of 5.8 million tonnes of hot metal production for 2009-10.