The 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh which also supplies electricity to other north Indian states, has been temporarily shut down by authorities after the level of silt rose in the Sutlej river. Vijay Verma, deputy general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), the company that operates the project, told AIR correspondent that ‘The silt content in the river suddenly rose more than the permissible limit of 7,500 ppm (parts per million). <br/><br/>So having no other option except to suspend power generation,’ The closure has affected the supply of electricity to other states in north India, including Delhi. He said the sudden inflow of the silt was due to heavy rainfall in the catchment of the river on which the project is based. ‘We are constantly monitoring the silt level. The project is likely to resume generation today at late night. <br/><br/>This was the first time the plant had to be shut down this season. SJVNL, a joint venture between the central government and the state, and it is daily generating about 38 million units daily, which is supplied to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.