Muzaffarpur, July 12: The proposed construction of a fly ash storage facility at Kanti Thermal Power Station (KTPS) has run into stiff opposition of the people, especially farmers.

People of Morsandi and Senduwahi from Motipur block, adjacent to KTPS, have opposed the move to acquire land for the construction of the storage space for fly ash proposed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The NTPC has planned to acquire 400 acres for the expansion of KTPS and the construction of the storage in Morsandi village of Motipur block.

Worried over the move to acquire agricultural land, a group of villagers of Morsandi met chief minister Nitish Kumar in Patna recently and requested him to stall the acquisition. The villagers petitioned that the construction of the fly ash storage space would pose health hazards and lead to several problems like bronchitis.

The farmers also protested against the acquisition of agriculture land.

“This (the land acquisition) will severely affect the prospects of a good harvest even in the nearby fields because of the pollution,” Bhola Sahni, a resident of Panapur village, said.

Other villagers echoed Sahni and said they were “really worried” as the land in the nearby areas would be seriously threatened because of the pollution and the agriculture land would turn barren.

“Besides, the litchi trees would also stop flowering because of the pollutants in the air. The Budhi Gandak river, which passes through the district, would also be heavily polluted as huge amount of silt would be deposited because of the fly ash,” Shahid Choudhary, a resident of Mustafapur village, said.

“The NTPC needed only 80 acres for the construction of the storage space for fly ash but it intended to acquire 400 acres for further expansion of the KTPS,” the divisional commissioner (Tirhut), S.M. Raju, told The Telegraph.

Nitish had earlier referred the case to Raju in view of the increasing discontent of the farmers. The Tirhut divisional commissioner tried to allay the fears of the villagers and has started administrative efforts to address the problem.

The divisional commissioner has asked the additional collector, Sudhir Kumar Singh, to directly speak to the villagers in the presence of the deputy general manager of NTPC, B. K. Sharma, and end the impassé.

The commissioner has also directed the district magistrate, Santosh Kumar Mall, to address the apprehensions of the villagers about the health hazards after the construction of the fly ash storage space.

Mall has decided to hold a meeting on July 15 with villagers of Morsandi, Senduwahi and the adjoining villages to solve the crisis.

Raju told The Telegraph: “The efforts are being initiated to impress upon the farmers to offer their lands willingly. The district magistrate has been asked to create a consensus on the issues.”

Raju said the farmers who willingly give their land would be paid 30 per cent more than the prevailing rate as bonus.

“The NTPC has decided to use technology in the construction of the fly ash storage that will lessen the threat of any pollution,” the Tirhut divisional commissioner added.