VIJAYAWADA: Every measure is being taken to expedite the filling up of breach in the ash pond of the thermal power plant at the earliest to end the farmers suffering, said Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar on Sunday.
With a breach in the ash pond of AP GENCO’s Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station located in Muthukur mandal of Nellore district on late Saturday night, the agriculture fields in Amudalapadu, Mittapalem, Musunurivanipalem, and other villages were covered with ash water, terrifying the villagers of sudden floods.
On receipt of information, the Energy Minister took stock of the situation and directed APGENCO managing director (MD) KVN Chakradhar Babu to plug the breach at the earliest. Promising that the State government will compensate the farmers who suffered losses due to the ash pond breach, the Minister ordered a probe to uncover the reasons for the breach. “Based on the report, action will be taken against those responsible for the incident,” he said.
The ash pond, which is spread over 100 acres, accumulates the ash generated from the three 800 megawatt thermal power units. The ash, which comes out from the power units as a hot fluid, is cooled and removed later after drying from time to time.
However, due to recent heavy rains, a huge amount of water flowed into the ash pond and was filled to the brim, resulting in the breach, AP GENCO officials informed the minister. They said that they were pumping out the water in a regulated fashion.
AP GENCO officials informed the Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar that they were monitoring the ash pond round-the-clock to prevent any seepage, and IIT Madras had been contacted for guidance to strengthen the bund of ash pond on a war footing. They said measures will be initiated to remove the ash that flowed into agriculture fields and compensate the farmers for their loss.