Tragic! 2 Dead, Four Missing After Breach In Artificial Pond Holding Toxic Ash In MP Coal Plant

At least two people are feared dead and four others are unaccounted for after a breach in an artificial pond that stores toxic residue from a coal power plant in Madhya Pradesh. The incident happened on Friday evening at Singrauli in a power plant run by Reliance Power.

Those swept away in the breach are five villagers and a worker at the site.

AishwaryaSudhir/ Twitter

According to reports, following the breach the fly ash travelled at least six kilometres, swallowing up whole agricultural fields along the way. Fly ash is a powdery byproduct of burning pulverised coal.

Photos and videos captured by the villagers showed a sea of sludge in the areas around the power plant could be seen.

#Again #Flyashdam break down @singrauli MP
#3 cases in last 1 yr #massive damage to life, property & environment. @_YogendraYadav @PMOIndia @DrKumarVishwas @ChouhanShivraj @drvandanashiva @RahulGandhi @PrakashJavdekar pic.twitter.com/EPwGys39xr

¡ª Dhirendra Shah (@CA_DhirendraS) April 11, 2020

"The sludge flowed from the dyke and then mixed with a stream, which carried it further," said K.V.S. Chaudhary, the top local official in the Singrauli district.

Another local official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said "strict action" would be taken against Reliance Power in line with environmental laws, but did not elaborate.

AishwaryaSudhir / Twitter

The 4,000 megawatt (MW) plant was running at full capacity and was not expected to shut, he said. It was not clear how the dyke broke and Reliance Power said it was investigating the causes of the incident, adding the plant would continue to operate normally independent of relief operations.

"The break in ash dump yard wall pushed the water leading to break in the boundary wall affecting some thatched houses and minor land parcel," a Reliance Power statement said. The company said it is investigating the reasons underlying the incident. Power Plant operations continue as the relief and restoration work is not affected by the same, it said. "We are closely working with locals and the District Administration in relief and restoration work," the statement said.

This is the third such incident in the last one year in Singrauli, about 680 km from state capital Bhopal, which has 10 coal-based power plants.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Friday said that the state government should provide compensation to farmers who suffered huge losses in the incident. "The nearby villages and a large number of farmers have been affected by the collapse of ash dam of Reliance Power Plant in Singrauli district. Their crops are destroyed and debris have entered their houses," Nath tweeted.

He demanded an investigation into the matter. "The government should immediately make arrangements to compensate for the losses of the farmers. This whole matter should be investigated and whosoever is found guilty, strict action should be taken," he said in another tweet.