16 gates of Kaptai dam will be opened at 10 pm tonight

16 spillway gates of Karnaphuli hydropower plant will be opened today Saturday at 10 pm due to rising water in Kaptai lake.

This information was informed in an urgent message of the Bangladesh Electricity Development Board on Saturday (August 24).

According to the message, the water level of Kaptai Lake at 3 pm today is 107.66 feet MSL, which is close to the flood limit. To control the flood in the upstream and downstream areas of the lake, the 16 gates of the spillway will be raised six inches to drain the water. Nine thousand cfs of water will be extracted.

It is informed that the inflow and rainfall of the lake are being closely monitored at present. If the inflow is high, i.e. the water level rises abnormally, the opening of the spillway gate will be gradually increased. Power is currently being generated through five units, resulting in 32,000 cfs of water being withdrawn.

The engineers of the power plant said that when the water rises up to 108 feet MSL in the Kaptai Lake, a dangerous situation is created. If this measure is reached, the water of Kaptai Lake may be released.

The manager of the power plant, ATM Abduzzah, said in the afternoon that the water level of Kaptai Lake has risen to 107.63 feet till 2 o'clock on Saturday. By evening, if the water rises to or near 108 feet, the 16 gates of the Kaptai spillway will be released at 6 inches. The official requested everyone to be careful.

Earlier, on Friday, the suspension bridge, an icon of Rangamati's tourism industry, sank as the lake water rose. Water rose 5 to 6 inches on the bridge deck. The wood of Patatan has opened in many places due to water pressure. Because of that, the tourism authority has banned the movement of tourists over the bridge.

According to the control room of the power plant, the lake currently has more water than required according to the rule curve. Due to this, maximum 219 megawatts of electricity is being produced in 5 units of the power plant. However, maximum power generation of 230 to 240 MW is possible from five units.

The heavy rains of the last few days and the hill slopes coming down from the upstream have increased the water in the Kaptai Lake in Rangamati and reached close to its maximum capacity or danger level. As of 9 am on Saturday (August 24), the water level in Kaptai lake is 107.63 MSL (mean sea level). Where the maximum water capacity is 109 MSL.