The UPCL plant, or the arrogant neighbour near Mudrangadi.
Photo by: Lijo Thampy
Newly born leaves had lost their lustre to a thick, grey coat of ash. Sundari Shetty had never known the human costs of producing electricity from the ‘world’s cheapest fossil fuel.’
At 75, she is among the 8000 people in Mudarangadi village of Udupi district alone who are affected by Udupi Power Corporation Limited’s (UPCL) coal-fired power plant. Within six months of its launch in November 2010, the power plant has received flak for its very nature, critical location and unsustainable methods of waste-disposal.
At the lake, before dumping the fly ash.
Photo by: Lijo Thampy
Located in the ecologically sensitive coastal strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, the power plant – according to official figures – produces about 300 tonnes of fly ash per day. About 85% of the fly ash is transported to a pond in Mudarangadi village, two km away from the plant site. “The fly ash is being transported in closed containers only after we protested to mix it with water before dumping,” said local farmer Nitin Shetty. He lives in close vicinity to the ash pond and questions the logic behind having a dumping site surrounded by 1000 families within its two km radius.