AHEC Final Cover.cdr - IIT Roorkee

are envisaged in the future. The power generation capacity in the state is expected toreach a level of 5500 Megawatts by the year 2015 from the present level of 1100Megawatts to make the state a major hydropower producer for the nation.Unlike thermal power station projects, where the basic design more or lessremains unchanged for a certain plant capacity, each hydro power generation scheme isunique. It calls for large scale and time consuming investigations followed by detailedsite specific designs. Planning and construction of dams and other associated structuresis complicated, requiring imagination and ingenuity combined with scientific andtechnical knowledge and skills. It requires a large number of professionally trainedpeople at different levels as well as in different disciplines (primarily civil, mechanicaland electrical engineering) working as a team. The gestation period of a hydropowergeneration project is large as compared to thermal power project and it needs much moremanpower to build. However, once completed the hydropower generation is not onlycleaner and environment friendly but also cheaper. Furthermore, compared to thermalpower projects hydropower projects have a much longer life. This makes hydropowergeneration an ideal choice for the future. In addition to generating power, the dams alsostore water for human and agricultural use and thus help in water resources management.4. NEED FOR ENHANCING EMPLOYABILITY IN WATER RESOURCES/HYDRO POWER SECTOR FOR THE PEOPLE OF UTTARANCHAL:Uttaranchal is largely a hill state. Eleven out of thirteen districts in the state arehill districts. Mountainous topography makes agriculture difficult. Traditionally a largenumber of young people migrated to the plains looking for employment or tried to jointhe armed forces. This is the reason why the local economy was known as ‘Money-Ordereconomy’, an economy in which the money for sustenance of the people living in hillscame from their relatives who had migrated from the region to other regions whichoffered more avenues of employment. This was also the reason for the region havingremained under developed despite high literacy rate.AHEC-IITR/Ua. Govt./syllabus/WR-HPD/20064