Ropar plant fire report in 3 days

dp correspondents

Ropar/Patiala

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has constituted a three-member committee to probe Saturday night’s explosion at the Ropar thermal plant and submit a report within three days.

The blast in the furnace oil tank of the thermal plant at Ghanauli resulted in a fire at 8.15 pm on Saturday, and the flames were brought under control by 4.15 am.

Such was the intensity of the explosion that it even shattered windows in a 2-km radius. Residents in neighbouring villages also heard the explosion, with windows of their houses rattling.

The meter gauge installed on the tank to check the temperature reading was not working at the time of the explosion, it is learnt. The reading showed 40 degrees Centigrade, and the meter gauge was evidently out of order.

Chief Engineer K Lal said the issue was being probed, though this was the first-of-its-kind and unpredictable explosion in the thermal plant.

He added that Powercom’s Director (Generation) GS Chhabra has constituted a probe committee which includes Lal himself, Deputy Chief Engineer of Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant JK Gupta and Deputy Chief Engineer of Bathinda Thermal Plant RK Jindal. They will meet on Tuesday; the report is to be submitted in three days.

When the incident took place, the tank was partially filled with oil; the loss has been put at Rs 1.5 crore.

Fire brigade teams of the thermal plant and teams from Chandigarh, Ropar, Nangal, Nawanshahr and Ludhiana were deputed to control the fire.

The tank was installed in 1982 and was maintained by the thermal plant employees. Power production is still on in full swing at the thermal plant.

Meanwhile, with all thermal plants facing shortage of coal for power production, the Guru Gobind Singh Thermal Plant at Ghanauli has nine days of coal stock left.