Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station is generating 203 MW of power per day due to the rise in Kaptai Lake water level. Heavy rainfall and onrush of water from the upstream has contributed to the rise in the lake's water. Sources said this is the highest power generation of the power station this year. Read: First unit of Rooppur Nuclear Plant to be ready for power generation next year, possible tariff rate still not set Engineer ATM Abduz Zaher, manager of the Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station, said power is being generated from all five units and 203 MW of power was generated till 9:30 am on Monday which is being transmitted to the national grid. Read: Bangladesh power generation capacity to cross 30,000 MW this year: Official sources According to the rule curve, Kaptai Lake was initially expected to reach 99.60 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) but the current the water level has reached 109 feet MSL, indicating the significant impact of the ongoing rains. If the water level of the Kaptai Lake increases further, then there is a possibility of further rise in  power generation, he added. Read: Water level rises in Kaptai lake after heavy rains; power generation increased A total of 230 MW of power could be generated from Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station if all five units are operative, said Abduz Zaher.

Fast depleting water level in Rangamati’s Kaptai Lake is causing problems in power generation at the country’s only hydropower station. Contacted, Manager (Acting) and Executive Engineer of Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station, Jalal Uddin, said that from the five units, only 40 megawatt electricity is being produced at this moment from the second unit. “We’ve done some repair work in the first unit and it will resume shortly. However, we can’t operate the other three units due to lack of water in the lake,” said Jalal. According to data from the control room of the power plant, the amount of water in Kaptai Lake was 90.09 ft mean sea level (MSL) till Sunday morning. It was supposed to be 106.4 MSL as per the rule carve of the lake. Read: Commute woes for Rangamati HSC examinees as Kaptai Lake clogged with water hyacinth Kaptai Lake can contain water up to 109 MSL. A total of 240MW electricity can be produced by the five units of the hydropower station. However, both power production and navigation get disrupted during the dry season which lasts from October to February.

Overgrowth of water hyacinth in Kaptai Lake has been hampering water transport operation in Rangamati. Movement of trawlers and boats is being disrupted due to overgrowth of water hyacinth in many parts of the lake in Kaptai upazila, Shahid Shamsuddin Ghat, and Kengrachari of Bilaichari upazila in Rangamati. Students and HSC candidates living around Kaptai Lake are suffering the most. Especially, HSC examinees are often not reaching exam centre on time as commute through the lake is taking much longer. Visiting the area this week, this UNB correspondent found a large swathe of the scenic Kaptai Lake covered with water hyacinth. Seen from a distance, one could mistake this as a lush, green field. Also read: Speedboats collision in Kaptai lake: Bodies of 2 missing students recovered HSC candidates Anand Tanchangya, Subir Chakma and Minti Chakma said water hyacinth has accumulated in the lake like every year. It takes three hours to reach a destination that used to take about three minutes before, they complained. Ujjal Das, another HSC candidate, said it is difficult to reach the exam centres on time. If authorities don’t take measures to remove water hyacinth from the lake immediately, local HSC candidates’ commute woes will continue. Boatman Shah Alam said, “Overgrowth of water hyacinth spells trouble for us too, causing engine fan to break often.” Also read: 7 injured, 2 missing after collision between two water vehicles in Kaptai Lake Over the last week, water hyacinth accumulated at the upstream jetty gate. As a result, it takes two to three hours, by boat, to reach the jetty from the island area, which normally takes two to three minutes. The unabated growth of the invasive aquatic plant is not only hampering operation of water transport but also threatening fish and marine resources – polluting Kaptai Lake’s water as well.

The bodies of two students, who went missing after a collision between two speedboats in Kaptai lake on Friday, have been recovered. The deceased were Liton Chakma, 20, and Elina Chakma, 20, residents of Baghaichhari and Borokol upazilas respectively and students of Higher Secondary Certificate level of Open University. The body of Liton was recovered by fishermen early Sunday while and the body of Elina by fire service workers on Sunday morning. Read more: 7 injured, 2 missing after collision between two water vehicles in Kaptai Lake Ariful Islam, officer-in-charge of Langadu police station, said they in association with the fire service men carried out search operation till Saturday evening since Friday afternoon but failed.   On Friday afternoon, seven people were injured and two others went missing in a head-on collision between a passenger carrying speedboat and a goods-laden boat in Kaptai Lake. Read more: Death toll from Karatoa boat capsize rises to 68 The passenger carrying boat was heading towards Langadu upazila from Rangamati Sadar.  Seven out of total nine passengers of the boat managed to swim ashore while the reset went missing.  

The floating body of a youth was recovered from Kaptai Lake in Sadar upazila of Rangamati district Thursday morning. The deceased is identified as Illias Hossain Kanchan, son of Ali Akbar of Barkal upazila in the district. Aumar Kumar Chakma, chairman of Balukhali union parishad, said locals found the body floating in the lake in the morning and informed police. Read: Two young men’s bodies recovered from Buriganga Later, the body was recovered and sent for autopsy, he said.   Md Kabir Hosssain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said body was partially decomposed.

Fishing in Rangamati's Kaptai Lake will resume Wednesday midnight at the end of a ban of more than three months, 108 days, imposed by the local administration to boost fish production. The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Mizanur Rahman Wednesday. Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) Manager Lieutenant Commander M Touhidul Islam said: "We usually impose a three-month ban on fishing in Kaptai Lake from May 1 to July 31. All kinds of netting, marketing, preserving, drying and transporting of fish from the lake are banned during the period to allow the fish population to thrive. This year's three-month ban on netting, marketing and transportation of fish from Kaptai Lake had to be extended till August 16 to help breed and rejuvenate fish stocks as the water level in the freshwater lake did not rise enough. However, the water in the lake is now slowly rising, Touhidul said. According to BFDC around 7,672 tonnes of fish were caught in the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16, 7,981 tonnes in FY17, 8,123 tonnes in FY18, 8,423 tonnes in FY19 and 8,549 tonnes in FY20, and 8,000 tonnes in FY21 from Kaptai Lake. Around 22,000 fishermen are dependent on the lake. Alsor read: Kaptai Lake: An artificial lake surrounded by natural beauty

A 26-year old tourist drowned in Rangamati’s Kaptai Lake Saturday. The deceased was identified as Rubayet Islam, a resident of Pahartali area in Chattogram city. A diving team of fire service fished out his body at 5:36 pm, said Md Billal Hossain, station officer of Rangamati Fire Service and Civil Defence. Also read: Two boys drown in Kapotaksha river in Jhenaidah Rubayet went on a sightseeing tour at Kaptai Lake by a boat with his three friends Saturday noon.  He drowned around 2:30 pm near Darogar Pahar area in Rangamati sadar upazila while taking bath, said, Md Kabir Hossain, officer-in-Charge of Kotwali police station. His body was sent for an autopsy, said the OC.    Also read: School teacher drowns while crossing river in Thakurgaon

Police rescued 20 tourists, including women and children, after their boat ran out of fuel amid rain and got stuck on Kaptai Lake in Rangamati district on Thursday night According to Additional Superintendent of Rangamati police Mahmuda Begum, the tourists went to Kaptai lake from Chattogram’s Agrabad. They got stranded on the lake as fuel of their engine boat ran out amid heavy rain along with gusty wind triggering panic. Read: Rangamati tourism needs big boost “Someone from the group called 999 and informed us about the situation. A team of Rangamati police rescued the tourists from the lake’s Peda Ting Ting area and brought them to the district police’s Polwell park at about 8:00pm on Thursday night,” said Mahmuda. Md Rashed, one of the tourists, said that he called 999 and informed police about their situation.   The tourists lauded Rangamati district police for their quick response.

A journey by boat on the country’s largest Kaptai Lake is no longer a fun. Boats carrying tourists on a joy ride get stuck up in the middle of the lake, surrounded by hills. Locals commuting by boats complain of wasting productive hours as the journey gets terribly slow. For all their sufferings they blame an unusual culprit: water hyacinths. The ambience of the man-made lake is under threat as it has been covered with the prolific weeds. Read Landslide warning: People urged to evacuate foothills in Rangamati The unabated growth of the invasive aquatic plants is not only hampering operation of water transports (such as launches, speed boats and engine boats) but also threatening fish and marine resources and polluting its water. According to experts and locals the water of Kaptai Lake has been severely polluted with water hyacinths. Local residents are getting infected with various diseases by using the water of the lake, they said. Visiting the area this week UNB correspondent found a large swathe of the beautiful lake clogged by water hyacinths.

Police rescued seven tourists, including women and children, as they got stuck in an engine boat in the Kaptai Lake on Thursday night after they had made a call to the national emergency service number 999. Sanzid Ahmed, a resident of Dhaka, along with families and friends went to visit Rangamati and the Kaptai Lake in an engine boat on Thursday. Read: 999 call: TCB goods recovered from AL leader’s house The boat got stuck in a swarm of water hyacinths near Balukhali and the propeller of the boat’s engine broke as the boatman repeatedly tried to restart it. Stuck in the middle of the lake for hours, Sanzid called on the helpline number 999 around 1:30 pm requesting for their rescue. Following the call, a request for a speedy rescue of the tourists was made to the naval police control room and  Rangamati sadar naval police outpost. Then, a team, led by in-charge Inspector of Rangamati naval police Rusel Mia and assistant sub-inspector Nazmul, started a rescue operation. Read: 999 call: 2 arrested after woman raped on truck After a few hours of their efforts, the tourist group was safely rescued from the boat. On September 7, another tourist group of eight people were rescued from the Kaptai Lake after they had sought help through the national emergency service number.