At least two persons were killed and four others went missing after a fly ash dam of a power plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli developed a breach. The incident took place on Friday evening ad the bodies were recovered in Saturday morning. The deceased have been identified as Abhishek (8) and Dinesh Kumar (35). The search for four others is underway, including a worker at the unit.
According to photos and videos captured by the villagers, a sea of sludge in the areas around the power plant could be seen. It also affected agricultural land near the plant.
According to KVS Chaudhary, district collector of Singrauli, five people got swept away inside their houses. The officer said that the administration is trying best to rescue affected villagers. He added that crops have also been damaged.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath has demanded from the state government to provide compensation to the affected farmers.
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: Part of an ash dam, of a power plant situated in Singrauli district breaks; debris spread in nearby areas. (10.04.2020) pic.twitter.com/OC38YziPn7
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2020
“The nearby villages and a large number of farmers have been affected by the collapse of the ash dam in Singrauli district. Their crops are destroyed and debris has entered their houses,” he tweeted in Hindi.
The Congress leader also demanded a high level inquiry into the matter.
“The government should immediately make arrangements to compensate for the losses of farmers. This whole matter should be investigated and whosoever is found guilty, strict action should be taken,” he added.
This was the third such incident in the last one year in Singrauli. The district is located at the border of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. It has 10 coal-based power plants.
