A pipeline carrying ash sludge from the 1,260MW Kolaghat Thermal Power Station leaked in the small hours of Friday, muddying a cluster of villages and triggering a protest by residents demanding compensation.

The leak affected the villages of Mecheda, Amalhanda, Denan and Mahishgot, whose residents blocked two gates of the power plant for over five hours till 11am. They demanded that the power plant authorities pay them compensation and clean up the ponds where fish had died because of contamination.

Hundreds of trucks ferrying ash to cement plants and brick kilns were stranded because of the blockade, which was lifted after the management promised to look into the protesters' demands.

"A pipe carrying ash sludge from the power station to one of the six ash ponds developed a crack late last night," said Mecheda resident Mahadeb Samanta, who worked for decades at the Kolaghat plant, run by the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd.

Samanta said the sludge had not only polluted the ponds but also affected farmland. "The sludge is water mixed with ash produced from burning coal. It has killed all our fish and caused a loss of at least Rs 40,000 to me. I want the money back from the company," he said.

Besides Samanta, dozens of villagers have demanded compensation between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh for damage to their farmland or ponds.

Power department officials said the demands could be considered if written submissions were made.

Picture by Jahangir Badsa