Bhubaneswar/Angul, Oct. 25: The Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) today directed the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) to stop discharging ash slurry into one compartment of its second ash pond at Angul. This direction has come amidst reports of fresh leakage in the ash pond during the repair of filters.

The Orissa State Pollution Control Board also asked the company to explain why its power generation should not be restricted to a level where the existing space available for ash disposal could be utilised till the commissioning of the high concentration slurry disposal system and lean slurry disposal in the mine voids of Bharatpur open cast project.

Reports from Angul said there was seepage of ash water from Nalco ash pond last night, which triggered protests from the residents of Kukudanga as it threatened to pollute the river Nandira. Nalco’s executive director P.R. Chaudhury, however, denied any breach and said what had happened was normal as it occurred during the repair of the filter.

“The seepage during the repair work was immediately stopped. We are following all the directions of the state pollution control board. There is no need to panic,” said Chaudhury.

The Orissa State Pollution Control Board’s member secretary Siddhant Das agreed that fresh seepage of ash slurry had taken place during repair work, but termed it as “inevitable”. He, however, said that the OSPCB’s caution to the company had followed an inspection of its ash pond system on October 19.

During the inspection, it was found that while ash pond-1 was completely filled-up, with no more space for ash disposal, compartment B of ash pond-2 was cracking repeatedly. Even pond-3, which was an overflow collection pond, was filled with ash and weeds.