Jindal plant's ash destroys crops in five villages

RAIPUR: A major breach in the ash dyke of Jindal Steel and Power Limited's (JSPL) Raigarh plant has destroyed crops in about 100 acres of land in five Chhattisgarh villages, official sources said on Friday.

"A major breach developed in the ash dyke No. 2 of JSPL early Friday due to incessant rains. As the dyke was filled beyond capacity and due to a major crack, a large quantity of ash started flowing into the fields located in the periphery of the plant," the sources said.

The JSPL management admitted in a written statement that due to heavy rains, damage was caused to the ash dyke at the Raigarh plant, located some 220 km from here,  and ash began flowing into the fields.

"Senior officials of the company along with the technical team are camping at the site to repair the fault and stop the flow at the earliest," the statement issued by JSPL said.

"Crops in 100 to 150 acres of land had been destroyed as the fields were filled with ash," Ramesh Agrawal, convenor of Jan Chetana Manch, said after visiting to worst-affected villages of Baghanpur, Kusmura and Gejamuda.

Sources say JSPL is in talks with the farmers to compensate the losses but company officials refused to comment on the issue.