Weak dyke may be the cause of Nalco ash pond breach

This time, officials privately admit they are thankful there were no casualties. Nalco’s sabotage theory also has hardly any takers here. The breach in the 20-metre high embankment had caused a flash flood in Nandira river, a tributary of the Brahmani, resulting in flooding of the villages and the agricultural lands around it, according to a press release issued here today by Nalco.

According to well-placed sources, the dyke of the second ash pond was weak and had already suffered subsidence near Kukudanga village some days ago. Thanks to the suspected nexus between contractors and some Nalco officials, the civil works of the embankments were of poor quality. Sources revealed that last Saturday, some workers were at the ash pond to divert ash water to rivulet Nandira as they usually did when the pond begins to overflow. The dyke was weak and could not withstand the pressure of water being released. It was also revealed that water leakage had begun that night itself.

Ash pond-1 is presently absorbing water from the power plant and within the next 15 days, Nalco may plunge into a grave crisis, not having anywhere to release its waste water. And despite the problem, Nalco is going ahead with adding another 120 MW capacity to its existing 720 MW plant. Meanwhile, all the five units are operating at lower capacity.

A four-member probe committee has been formed to find out the cause of the mishap within seven days, according to official sources.

Athamallik MLA Nagendra Pradhan asked Nalco to compensate all losses caused to villages and take preventive measures. State BJP secretary Saroj Mishra and BJP leader Rudra Narayan Pani held the Nalco management responsible for the disaster and demanded action against the guilty. Former MP Rabi Narayan Pani also echoed the demands.

The district administration began massive relief works on Sunday, officials said. To provide free food to the people of Digh, Gurujanguli, Kendupalli, Nuagaon, Kholua Pingua and parts of Jagannathpur, the authorities rushed 80 quintals of rice and 30 quintals of dal on Monday. On Sunday, 25 quintals of flattened rice and gur were provided.

A meeting presided over by Collector L.N. Gupta on Sunday night decided to cover all the affected villages under the Indira Awas Yojana. SP Arun Bothra, Nalco executive director M.S. Parija and others attended the meeting. As the missing child of Gurujanguli village is yet to be traced, Nalco has been asked to give Rs 25,000 to the parents, the Collector said.

Altogether, about 700 people in 12 villages near the plant at Angul have been affected to some extent or other.

While the company had appointed a committee to inquire into the causes of the mishap, assess the quantum of damage and suggest remedial measures for avoiding recurrence, it had also undertaken repair of the breach on a priority basis, the release said, adding that Nalco had also sought the opinion of Suba Rao, an earthen dam expert at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The chairman-cum-managing director of Nalco, P. Parvathisem, and other directors of the company visited the site and later held discussions with the district authorities and people’s representatives to assess the situation.