Nature and destiny have joined hands to pour cold water on your Rukka Dam picnic plans.
A brimming reservoir has left the picturesque patch of forest on its southern side completely inundated, shrinking the picnickers' paradise by nearly half. To make matters worse, the remaining half is too swampy to be safe for those who wouldn't mind making a little compromise on venue.
Arun Kumar Singh, executive engineer of Rukka Dam, said the catchment area sprawled over 717sqkm and the maximum reservoir capacity was 1,936ft.
"A good monsoon raised the water level to 1,933.6ft. Currently, the level is 1,932.8ft. So, you can well understand that the water level has not receded much even in winter; hence, the peripheral areas are inundated," he said.
On why the level was maintaining status quo, Singh explained that Sikidiri hydel project, which sourced water for operations, wasn't doing so for two months now. "So, the reservoir level is not going down," he added.
Amar Nayak, project manager at Sikidiri, said their plant was closed for repairs and would remain so till February.
"We cannot take water from Rukka as long as the plant isn't operational again. Once we harness water, the Rukka level will drop by half a feet daily. So long, people should consider day trip options like Hundru, Jonha and Sita waterfalls," Nayak added.
Picnickers are understandably sulking.
"December and January are the prime picnic months. People prefer weekend outings and interestingly this year, all important dates like December 25 and 31, and January 1 are either a Saturday or a Sunday, which are likely to witness mega rush. So, we had planned our picnic at Rukka last Sunday, but were utterly disappointed," said P.S. Vishwanathan, a retired CCL officer.
Vishwanathan was at the dam with four more families, comprising 14 adults and five children. "Half of our time was wasted in checking where the kids could play safely because the area was either flooded or swampy and slippery. A group of college students were also picnicking nearby. They told us that they had toured the entire periphery, but found most of the green patches inundated," he added.
Shouldn't the administration then officially dissuade people from visiting Rukka this picnic season?
Engineer Singh said they were being compelled to think on that line. "The water level is high and hence risky. Even if people are not stopped from coming, there should at least be signboards warning them of peril spots," he said.
Are officials listening?
Why will you miss picnicking at Rukka this year? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
