Odisha: "Villagers to be compensated," says DM as breach in ash pond at thermal plant floods crop fields

Jharsuguda: The district magistrate, Jharsuguda, Aboli Sunil Naravane has assured villagers of compensation following the loss caused by the breach in an ash pond of the thermal plant led to flooding of farmland in some villages in the district on Friday.
Naravane also asked villagers not to panic and stay inside their houses as the slurry has not entered houses and repair work of the breach is underway.
"Yesterday there was a breach at OPGC ash pond at around 9 am and slurry entered the farmland of village Sardhapali, it has not entered the houses. The villagers were panicked but we told them that since the slurry has not entered houses, they can sit inside the houses," the district magistrate said.
"In the presence of the administration, we will do an assessment of damage that has been done to the farmland. The repair of the breach has started. Villagers will be compensated for the loss," she said.
The breach in the ash pond of the thermal plant of the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) has allegedly led to flooding of farmland in some villages.
According to villagers, a 20-foot breach led to the collapse of the ash pond wall around 8 am on Friday. The breach led to a flooding of toxic slurry waste in areas in the vicinity, the residents alleged.
The ash water flooded farmlands on the outskirts of Saradhapali, triggering panic among locals, sources said, adding that crops over several acres of land were damaged.
Earlier, Public Relations Officer, OPGC, Himanshu Behera said, "An inquiry has been ordered into the breach and the repair work will start soon. It is likely that persistent rainfall weakened the ash pond wall, leading to the breach. However, we can only arrive at a conclusive assessment after an inquiry."