Udupi power project is leaving villagers inundated in tonnes of fly ash

Santhur Koplu, a village situated 60 km from Mangalore, is now regretting its decision taken five years ago to lend three crop lands to the giant 1,200 MW thermal power project. Children walk through the mist of fly ash to the school and come back home the same way, coughing all the way. Farmers complain of fine dust settling on their crop, jasmine gardens and other crops.
There is a sudden increase in chest-related problems which is being attributed to the fly ash getting into their lungs through the air they breathe.

Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) is spewing out tonnes of fly ash every day from its plant in Nandikur, about 5 km from Santhur Koplu. It is then transported to a huge fly ash pond situated on a hilly area and dumped there dry. Every time the wind blows over the pond, a dust storm travels miles in the air to reach at least seven to eight villages around the ash ponds.

“The company had promised us to mix water with the ash and store it in the pond and use the mixture for producing construction material including tiles and bricks and also use it in construction of roads. But none of that appears to be happening and the company is just dumping it in huge quantities into the pond creating multiple environmental and human problems,” said Sunil Raj Shetty, president, Mudarangady Gram Panchayat.

About 150 families live close to the ash ponds and about 300 children take the road abutting the ash ponds; they have to cross over from Santhur Koplu to Manchakal to reach their school.

A teacher at St Francis Middle and High School said the incidence of children calling in sick has increased and the parents were apprehensive about sending their kids to the school as they have to cross ‘hostile’ environment on their way to school.

“It is a clear violation of the line estimation and environmental impact guidelines issued by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. The licence was given to UPCL on the condition of pollution-free management of the fly ash, but the company has circumvented the clause,” said Vijay Hegde, president, Karnataka State Association of Anti-Coal Based Thermal Power Projects.
The company was trying to save the cost involved in the process of mixing water with the fly ash which had created a problem, Hegde said.

UPCL is working just 50% of its installed capacity (1,200 MW) and when it reaches its peak production, the fly ash production would be double the volume. This will also increase the level of air pollution if the company does not start managing the fly ash according to the guidelines.

“At this rate, the ash ponds will fill up to their brims in just few months; the sea winds during the summer will be very severe and our village is sure to be engulfed in a thick blanket of fly ash,” said Rajendra Shetty, a farmer leader of the village. As many as 10 villages including Santhur, Mudarangadi, Pilar, Maniyoor, Yelluru, Adve, Nandikur, Sooda, Manchakal and Belman will then come into the ring of effects of the fly ash.

“But we are more afraid about what happens during the monsoons. This area gets not less than 4,000 mm of rain between June and September; the storm water mixed with fly ash might flood our fields and wells. There are at least three tributaries of Shambhavi River and over 1,000 open wells, bogs and ponds that are our sources of drinking water and irrigation in the 10 villages,” Shetty said.

Due to the fly ash problem, local jasmine growers complain that their crops have started declining in volumes. “Previously, we used to get flowers that could fetch Rs500-Rs600 a day. This has come down to Rs100. There are over 300 jasmine growers in the vicinity of the fly ash ponds,” said Shekar Poojary, who works in a village eatery to fill in the gap in his income. When contacted, UPCL officials said the corporate office in Bangalore would be in a position to answer.