MALLAPUR (UTTARA KANNADA): One of the two trucks carrying massive end-caps to plug radiation leak at units 5 and 6 of the Kaiga nuclear power plant overturned on Thursday, blocking the Kaiga-Mallapur road near here.
The truck overturned just a few km away from the power plant. Each nine-foot end-cap weighs over 140 tonnes.
Manufactured by L and T Group, these end-caps were being transported to the Kaiga plant where two more reactors are being built.
The trucks belong to Nebros. They left Surat in Gujarat to Kaiga on February 9. “It is difficult to move such huge end-caps by road. It was a big challenge for these truck drivers to reach Kaiga from Surat,” said a source here.
When the trucks reached Karwar, power lines were disconnected temporarily to make way for them.
One of the end caps worth crores of rupees might have been damaged. However, efforts are on to lift it from the overturned truck to assess the damage, according to experts.
Vehicles proceeding to Karwar and other places have been diverted to other roads.