ISLAMABAD – The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said on Tuesday that neither the main Tarbela Dam nor any of its critical structures faces any danger, a day after a rockfall at the 5th Extension Project (T-5) sent a rush of water into neighbouring work areas.
A section of rock gave way at the T-5 construction site on Monday. An emergency was declared, work was halted, and workers were told to relocate to safer ground. No casualties were reported.
In a handout issued on Tuesday, the authority said its chairman, retired Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed, travelled to the site on both days to assess the situation. He inspected the intake structure, tunnel, powerhouse and other key parts of the project, where consultants, the contractor and Wapda’s project management briefed him on the present position and the steps already taken.
The chairman then chaired a meeting at the site to examine the likely causes of the collapse. According to the statement, participants discussed short-, medium- and long-term safeguards as well as ways to deal with the current problem, and settled on immediate response measures that have since been put into action.
The statement added that the consultants, the contractor and Wapda’s teams all agreed that, at present, the main dam and its critical structures are not at risk.
The chairman instructed the consultants to submit a comprehensive report on the incident as soon as possible. He also told them, along with the contractor and the project team, to begin remedial work immediately and finalise a contingency plan to limit any delay to the project’s completion. A departmental inquiry into the incident was ordered as well.
Wapda has also submitted an initial assessment report, requested by the Ministry of Water Resources, and the chairman briefed Water Resources Minister Mian Muhammad Mueen Watto, the handout said.
Officials said Wapda engineers and technical staff spent Tuesday repairing and restoring the damaged sections of the project.
Swabi Deputy Commissioner Nasarullah Khan urged the public not to worry, saying the situation was fully under control. He said he and the Haripur deputy commissioner, together with other officials, were handling matters under a coordinated plan. He added that Wapda’s technical team had approved the higher downstream flows in the Indus River as a safety and technical measure.
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