Sunrise over Norochcholai was different last Sunday. It was around 7 am, there was extra light over the Norochcholai coal project, which residents thought was because the plant has commenced generating electricity, but it was not so. An unexpected conflagration, following an explosion, was the cause of the lighting of the sky there.
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| The coal power plant |
The project billed to produce 900 megawatts is ready with one-third of its capacity on the completion of its first stage. 1,200 Chinese and 500 locals are employed on the project. The area is out of bounds to unauthorised persons for security reasons. Hence, the sudden fire at the plant was suspected to be sabotage, if not an accident. Sulphur dioxide produced in heating coal was being readied for disposal into the sea, which is the usual procedure, when a spark from a welding plant is believed to have triggered the fire.
But sources at the coal power plant do not rule out sabotage.
Many of the Chinese workers are disgruntled as their salaries have not been paid for 11 months by a sub contractor, which resulted in a protest campaign the day before the fire broke out. It is alleged that there is a possibility that some of them had resorted to damaging the plant for this reason. According to government sources, the Chinese donors are liable for the financial loss caused by the fire.
The plant did not seem to be equipped with proper fire fighting equipment. The absence of a fire fighting unit beggars comprehension.
Though labelled a minor fire, all the fire fighting units in the vicinity were summoned to douse it. Many government officials arrived at the scene to personally ascertain the damage.
However, the media were barred from entering the plant premises. The IGP has ordered the CID to investigate the cause of the fire with the help of a special police unit and the government analyst.
The project is scheduled to be commissioned in November. |
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