Power station fly-ash in Kanhan River hits water supply of Nagpur

Nagpur: Due to incessant rains, Kanhan river has flooded. The ash of the power station was seen flowing from the intake well of the river around 4 am on Sunday. Therefore, the intake well was closed immediately. As a result, the water supply from the river to the water treatment plant has stopped. The water supply is likely to be affected in most parts of East and North Nagpur in the next two days.

From the Kanhan River, 210 to 220 MLD of water is pumped daily through five intake wells and discharged to the water treatment plant. From there it supplies 28 water tanks in North and East Nagpur through underground aqueduct. The water of the Kanhan River is treated at the Kanhan Water Treatment Plant; But the intake well in the Kanhan River has been closed as it is not possible to clean the ash.

According to the sources in the water purification center, after the ash was completely removed from the river basin at 7.30 pm, water was supplied to the water purification center through three pumps. The process then resumed at the water treatment plant. If the intake well is jammed, the water treatment plant closes and it can take several hours for the condition to return to normal. Therefore, in the next two days, there will be limited water supply in the water tanks in East and North Nagpur. Water supply has been affected in some areas since Sunday morning.

The ash from the power station is kept in a fly ash pond. It has been raining continuously since Saturday in Kanhan area. Therefore, there is a possibility of ash leaking from the pond. Even before this, the Kanhan river basin was covered with ashes during the rainy season.

The water treatment plant can purify 9,000 MTUs of sludge; But it is impossible to purify ash water. That water is toxic. Therefore, the raw water pump in the water treatment plant is completely cleaned. Because there should be no ash left in it.