ANGUL: Disruption in the supply of coal from Kaniha mine has once again adversely affected production at NTPC Kaniha power plant.
Residents of Kansamunda village, who are demanding jobs in lieu of their land, have paralysed production at the Kaniha mine since Sunday as a result of which no coal is being supplied to the power plant. The plant gets around 20,000 tonnes of coal per day from the mine.
An NTPC official said a 500 MW unit of the plant was shut down on Monday owing to acute shortage of coal. With another unit shut for maintenance, four units are functioning at the plant with partial load. This has affected the supply of power to NTPC Kaniha’s consuming States including Odisha. “At present, the power plant is generating 1,300 MW per day instead of its normal of 2,000 MW,” he said. The official said the plant’s coal stock is at record low of zero at present.
The official said the plant is getting around 30,000 to 40,000 tonne of coal from Lingaraj mine and others but it is not enough to meet its needs. Meanwhile, the possibility of the Kansamunda villagers ending their strike anytime soon seems remote. They are demanding jobs in lieu of their land. They accused the MCL authorities of not honouring their promise of giving them jobs as was decided during a meeting 11 months back. Debendra Barik, a villager said the meeting was attended by the director of MCL.
Talcher Sub-Collector Paresh Chandra Nayak termed the villagers’ agitation as illegal and said he had asked them not to go on strike during a meeting. General Manager of Kaniha area Narayan Dash said efforts are on to resolve the issue.