KORBA (CHHATTISGARH): reduced power supply after a damaged fly ash dam in Korba

KORBA (CHHATTISGARH): For nearly a month, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa are coping with reduced power supply after a damaged fly ash dam in Korba grounded power generation at four units of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). In the first week of September, as torrential rains pelted down, the heaps of ash at Dhanras acquired the force of floods, cracking the spillway wall. The pond water overflowed and contaminated nearby paddy fields. The company was forced to stop fly ash disposal to prevent more spillage. With no alternative site for ash disposal, production in four units came to a grinding halt. For the first time in three decades, production at NTPC's Korba station has dipped to just 200MW.