DHENKANAL: A 265-metre high chimney on the premises of Lanco Babandh Power Limited in Dhenkanal district was razed to the ground by a Rajasthan-based company on Monday. The chimney was brought down in the third attempt.
While the first attempt to demolish the chimney was made by the company on October 13, the second was on November 17. Sources said the company used 750 kg explosives to demolish the chimney. Local administration and police had evacuated people from localities nearby before the demolition. Steps were taken by the company to ensure the chimney did not cause damage in the village nearby.
The demolition work was completed within seconds at around 10.30 am. Damage assessment has not been done yet, said Motanga IIC Niranjan Sethy. The company had taken away all equipment and machinery from the plant and only the chimney was left.
Construction of Lanco Babandha Power Plant was started in 2009 with installation of boiler, turbine and other equipment. The company aimed at producing power from the plant by 2014. However, while 80 per cent of the construction was complete, the company was faced with a financial crunch. It later went bankrupt and was referred to the National Company Law Tribunal in 2015.
Sources said the Tribunal ordered the plant’s machinery and other equipment to be sold in scrap. The Rajasthan-based company was assigned the task of demolition.