Water supply to about 40 per cent of the city areas will be affected due to contamination of Kanhan river water following collapse of Khasala ash bund of Koradi Thermal Power Station on Saturday morning. Drinking water is supplied to Nagpur city from Kanhan river, Pench Project and Gorewada lake. Due to flowing of fly ash into Kanhan river, water supply in four zones of Nagpur city has been badly affected resulting in severe inconvenience to the citizens. The issue of fly ash from Koradi Thermal Power Station contaminating Kanhan river was raised since long but the authorities concerned took their own time to take corrective steps. Following a backlash from the then Environment Minister of State Aditya Thackeray, the work of lifting of fly ash from Khasala ash bund had started but at a slow pace. Due to heavy rains last week, water got accumulated in the bund which gave in on Saturday morning.

 

Though the present water supply system, managed by Orange City Water (OCW), remains normal, but the latest crisis has affected flow of water. OCW, in consultation with NMC officials, is evolving a system to tackle the situation and manage sufficient water supply to the city. Water supply from Kanhan river, Pench Project and Gorewada lake needs to be interconnected on an urgent basis to avoid disruption, if any, for longer durations. Pench Project and Gorewara lake presently have sufficient water to cater to the affected areas but NMC and OCW have no system to manage it, stated a joint press release issued by NMC and OCW. To overcome the existing scenario, what OCW and NMC need is having an emergency water supply system in consultation with VNIT and advisory from other relevant bodies, suggest experts. The collapse of Khasala ash bund also resulted in nearby villages getting submerged in the fly ash-mixed water. Heavy rains for last few days and slow place of ash removal from the bund by the Thermal Power Station management resulted in the tragedy.

 

Since the incident on Saturday morning, all connecting roads got flooded. Villages, including Khasala, Mhasala, Kawtha, Khairi and other areas, were submerged in fly ash slurry-mixed water. Even farmers suffered huge loss as their crops were swept away in fly ash-mixed water. After getting information about the incident, Chief Engineer of Koradi Thermal Power Station and other senior officials rushed to the spot and informed the district administration about the incident. As per the information, the villagers noticed water entering nearby villages through an overflow point of the ash bund. Keeping the calamity in mind, the district administration had issued an alert for the nearby villages. Khasala ash bund is spread over 341 hectare area.

 

Fly ash is dumped in the bund which is spread across over 7 kms. As per the information, flow of water reduced from the ash bund around 3.30 pm. However, the teams from district administration were busy controlling the situation. After getting information about the incident, former Energy Minister and Guardian Minister of Nagpur Chandrashekhar Bawankule inspected the spot and assured affected villagers of quick action and compensation from the government. “Our team is reviewing the situation on the spot and after the panchanama, we will issue a show cause notice to Koradi Thermal Power Station,” Umakant Bhadule, Sub Regional Officer, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Nagpur told The Hitavada. In February last, the then Environment Minister of State Aditya Thackeray had visited the fly ash dumping sites of Koradi and Khaparkheda Thermal Power Stations. He had instructed MahaGenco to stop dumping fly ash as it was affecting the environment badly. He had directed the officials concerned to remove all legacy ash from the bunds in 15 days. However, according to the villagers residing nearby and volunteers of Centre For Sustainable Development (CFSD), the fly ash removal was carried out by MahaGenco but at a slow pace.

 

During a review meeting held in the month of June, CFSD had informed Thackeray about slow place of the work. Thackeray had then instructed to form a joint committee by inducting representatives from the NGO and villagers, to improve the situation and restoration of the environment. The villagers informed the minister that during monsoon the ash slurry water would enter in water bodies which will cause major impact on the environment. And the fear came true on Saturday when the ash bund got collapsed and the nearby villages came in contact with that poisonous ash slurry water.