Employees allege that a list of the decesased has still not been released and that many of their colleagues were still missing and unaccounted for.
Employees of NTPC’s Unchahhar Thermal Plant on Thursday held a massive demonstration outside its gate demanding a list of those who died and/or were injured in the boiler blast. They alleged that many of their colleagues are still missing and authorities are not giving any answers about their whereabouts.
Meanwhile, three units of the plant, having a capacity of 210 MW, were shut since Thursday while unit no 6 is already out of operation following boiler blast on Wednesday.
The death toll so far has risen to 30.
Also, under-fire officials denied claims that the thermal plant was running under trial and said it suspected a control panel malfunction for the blast.
Employees alleged that the plant was made operational six months before it was supposed to be completed without testing safety and security measures and running it on trial to ensure that it was mechanically and technically functioning as per norms.
Agitating employees alleged that the authorities shut the lights since Wednesday and are not allowing them to report to duty. They have also been directed to surrender their identity cards.
They alleged that many of their colleagues were burnt alive in the blast and their remnants were trapped under the debris, but authorities were not providing any information.
Even after more than 24 hours of the accident, the NTPC has not released any comprehensive list of those who passed away or were injured in the explosion. It’s the hospital authorities which are keeping a record of those admitted and those who succumbed.
NTPC officials have, however, denied the charge saying that since the toll is rising it was difficult to release a comprehensive list after including new deaths every hour. The corporation has all records and once injured employees admitted at different hospitals are declared out of danger and discharged it will make available the list.
Under fire from all corners, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has also denied that the Unit no 6 at its Unchahaar Thermal Power Plant was running ‘under trial’. It suspected control panel malfunction could be reason for blast.
The NTPC (North Zone) office in Lucknow clarified on Thursday that the Unit was made fully operational in August and was not running under trial as reported in a section of media. “It was wrong to say that Unit no 6 with 500 MW capacity was not fully commissioned but was running under trial when the blast occurred,” claried an Additional General Manager (North India) on condition of anonymity.
Another senior NTPC official, General Manager R.S. Rathi, who visited Unchahaar on Thursday also claimed that the boiler did not choke and it was not the main cause of the blast.
Under fire from the Union Power Ministry, which has sought an initial report from the corporation on the massive blast, the NTPC is now scurrying for cover to cite technical reasons for the explosion at Unchahaar giving a clean chit to its officers.
Highly-placed sources in NTPC claimed that a preliminary report on explosion in Unchahaar was drafted by the North Zone office in Lucknow and the same has been submitted to the ministry.
NTPC sources claimed that the report suspected that due to malfunctioning of the control panel, the fans in the boiler did not trip automatically leading to high pressure and rise in temperature up to 800 to 900 degree celsius.
It made a hole or ruptured the second corner of the boiler allowing sudden release of hard gases resulting in severe blast, the report added.
Senior and retired power engineers, however, questioned and rejected the NTPC theory of blast. Secretary General of the All-India Power Engineers and Employees Union Shailendra Dubey said that the question is why coal ash was allowed to be deposited in the boiler?
“Why it was not cleaned. There is a laid down process for this, was it followed? Instead of owning up the responsibility and fixing accountability, the NTPC is trying to web technical reasons to come out clean after the blast resulting in deaths of so many employees,” pointed Dubey, who retired as an engineer from UP Power Corporation Limited.
Meanwhile, the NTPC has also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured. The corporation has also assured jobs to dependents of those killed or crippled in the explosion.
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 "Raebareli: Smoke billowing out of NTPC's Unchahar Power Plant where a blast took place in a boiler, in Raebareli district on Wed")
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