A fly ash Dam of Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project of Reliance Company has breached in the evening of April 10, 2020, near village Harrahva in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, killing six people and destroying downstream river and fields. Following the breach there was massive flash flood of coal ash mixed sludge reportedly affecting hundreds of villages and destroying crops on thousands of acres.Of the six people feared to have been killed in the flash floods, dead bodies of two have been found in faraway areas, while four are still missing. Two women injured in the aftermath are reported to be in stable condition in local hospital. Reports also suggest that many people could be trapped in their homes because of the poisonous sludge.
The liquid fly ash in huge volume has reached the river and Rihind reservoir located downstream in close proximity. The fly ash has toxic effects on aquatic life and would impact reservoir capacity however no media reports mention these aspects of the incident.
This is the third such incidents taking place in the area in last one year. First in August 2019, there was breach in artificial pond of Essar Power Company and then in October 2019 a similar incident had taken place in Vindhyachal super thermal power plant owned by NTPC in the district. Both the incidents had caused wide scale destruction.
Worried over the recurring breaches the locals had protested against the Sasan project following which the reliance company had reportedly in written assured villagers of ensuring safety against such breaches. There was also a survey visit by District Magistrate following which he too had assured villagers against any untoward dam breach incident.
There are 10 giant coal based power project operating in the area with a capacity of over 21,000 MW. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had found the Singrauli area second most polluted region in India. Such incidents in coal mining and power plants causing irreversible damages are increasing of late.
In fact on April 8 2020, there was report of South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) in Korba district, Chhattisgarh discharging polluted water[ii] in Hasdeo river for past few days, affecting villagers, livestock. The report also mentioned that the authority had not responded, nor remedied the situation.
In October 2019, Lilagar river a tributary of Hasdeo had changed its course[iii] and entered the open cast coal mine of SECL in Dipka town due to excessive mining activities close to river course.
Disaster foretold
In The Hindustan Times report, environment expert Ashwani Kumar Dubey was quoted saying: “Due to negligent act of officials[iv] of Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project, the fly ash dyke breached and toxic residue and fly ash-laden water entered the houses of villagers and damaged their crops and also entered the Rihand reservoir. There is a fear of loss of life as well,” Dubey said. He further said that only a few months back the officials of the power plant told a team of National Green Tribunal (NGT) that their fly ash dyke was in a good condition.
In another report in the same paper[v], Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said: “Singrauli as a region has nearly 23 GW installed coal-based capacity which more than 11% of the total installed capacity in India… The air they breathe is polluted, water they drink is contaminated and their traditional livelihood has been destroyed by coal mining”.
The NDTV report also quoted Ashwani Dubey who is a lawyer fighting cases related to pollution in Singrauli in the green court saying that all power companies had assured[vi] the NGT team that their ash dykes were in good health and were being maintained.
The Economic Times reported that flow of fly ash[vii] travelled at least six kilometres, swallowing up whole agricultural fields along the way. 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.
Another report by NDTV quotes Singrauli District Collector KVS Chaudhary saying “So far two bodies of an eight-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man have been recovered from the ash slurry, around seven km away towards the border with Uttar Pradesh,”. “Four more persons including the boy’s sister, 9, his mother, and the 35-year-three-year-old man’s son are still missing,” he added.
The report also revealed that last year, a protest was held by locals[viii] against the power plant. “Three months ago, we had protested against the ash leak by Reliance Power Plant. The company gave us in writing that there would be no breach in the artificial pond. District Magistrate, collector had conducted checks and assured us there won’t be any mishap. Despite that, there was a leak. The district administration is to be blame,” Sandeep, a local, told reporters.
Source: https://sandrp.in/2020/04/12/singruali-fly-ash-dam-breach-who-regulates-these-dams-in-india/
