The recently reported breach of an ash pond in Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station in Nelatur village of Nellore city has destroyed the paddy fields and shrimp farms in the surrounding areas. The affected farmers and shrimp farm owners have demanded appropriate compensation from the company.
The coal-based power plant of Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Limited (APPDCL) is a joint venture of APGENCO and IL&FS with equal partnership. Leaders of the YSR Congress Party, CPI(M) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) have sought a special committee be formed, to conduct a judicial inquiry on the incident and compensatory measures as suggested by the committee.
Former Agriculture Minister and YSRCP leader from Sarvepally constituency, Kakani Govardhan Reddy, along with the farmers and fishermen submitted a petition to government officials during the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS) meeting at the Collectorate on Monday. In the petition, they demanded compensation to the farmers and fishermen who lost their livelihood due to the ash pond breach.
“Nearly 100 acres of farmlands belonging to roughly 50 farmers in the villages of Musunuri Vani Palem, Nelaturu, Amudalapaadu, Mittapalem, Varikavipudi and Pynapuram have been badly affected due to the overflow of ash. A layer of ash has been formed on the farms which is not conducive for agriculture or shrimp farming for the next three years,” Mr. Kakani said. “The probe must bring out the corruption and irregularities that have taken place since the APGENCO formation till date and disclose the facts to the public,” he added.
‘Poor construction’
CPI(M) Nellore district secretary Moolam Ramesh said that the ash pond had been poorly constructed and action should be taken against the contractor and engineers involved. He demanded a compensation of ₹3 lakh per acre to each affected farmer and fishermen.
Echoing Mr. Kakani’s concerns, CITU Nellore Industrial Cluster Committee general secretary explained: “The poor construction of the ash pond by the contractor has led to the breach. The ash has been mixed into the water bodies which may pollute more farms nearby. These farms will not be useful for agriculture or shrimp farming until three years.”
A.P. Energy Minister Gottipati Ravikumar has directed APGENCO to carry out the repair works of the ash pond and restore normalcy. He also ordered an inquiry into the cause of the breach, adding that strict action would be taken against those responsible.
Repair works
Speaking to The Hindu, Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station Chief Engineer K. Sudheer Babu said: “Due to heavy rains in this region, water has been accumulated in the ash pond. This water must be discharged in a controlled manner to the recovery pump house else it will be submerged with ash and water. With the increased water level, seepage started in the ash pond.”
“We have discussed this seepage issue with the experts from IIT Madras. Based on their advice, we have carried out rectification works up to a length of 300 metres at a cost of ₹5 lakh for every 60 metres. Overall, we may spend ₹3 crore to cover a stretch of 2.8 km,” he informed.
Mr. Sudheer further said that another ₹2-3 crore would be needed to repair the damaged portion of the ash pond to form a natural ring bund and sheet filing. Talking about the compensation to the affected farmers, he said: “We will immediately clear the ash from the fields and later compensate the farmers based on the report given by the Revenue Department officials.”
Published - August 05, 2024 09:32 pm IST
