CEA makes recommendations, but pins no blame
LUCKNOW:More than a year after 43 people died and a dozen others were injured in a boiler explosion at the NTPC’s Unhahar thermal plant in Uttar Pradesh in November 2017, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has come out with recommendations to check recurrence of such accidents in future without fixing anyone’s accountability for the tragedy.
The recommendations have come after the ill-fated unit already resumed operation early this month. Nobody has been penalized yet for the lapses that triggered the blast in 500 MW unit number 6 of the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar thermal station of the NTPC on November 1, 2017.
“The CEA’s recommendations that have also been issued early this week as a general advisory to all the thermal plants are based on reports submitted by two separate committees, one headed by the member, thermal and the technical advisor, boiler,” an energy department official said.
The CEA has recommended all systems and facilities of the unit/plant should be completed before commissioning. After that the unit should operate on a sustained basis without resorting
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The CEA’s recommendations that have also been issued early this week as a general advisory to all the thermal plants are based on reports submitted by two separate committees, one headed by the member, thermal, and the other by technical advisor, boiler
ENERGY DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL
to any contingency arrangements. It has stressed that the capacity of bottom ash handling system, economiser, air preheater ash handling system and ESP fly ash handling system should be adequately designed keeping in view the likely maximum ash content of coal.
The CEA has recommended a qualified boiler operation engineer should be engaged to ensure safe operation of the boiler which is mandatory under the Boilers Act, 1923.
“Besides, the manhole door provided at the bottom of the furnace should not be opened while the boiler is in operation and the persons working in the ash handling area should be provided with thermal wear that can withstand high temperature and flame proof clothing for people working near the furnace area,” it says.
An inquiry committee set by the UP labour department had found that the ill-fated Unhahar unit was being operated amid half-baked preparations and its handing was not being done properly ignoring basic principles of engineering.
“The CEA has based its recommendations around the causes of accident, as found by various state and the Central government appointed committees,” those privy to the matter said. They said while 43 workers, including a few engineers were killed and scores other injured in the accident, no inquiry committee had fixed the accountability of any official for mishandling the unit and ignoring the safety norms.
“Neither the state government nor the Central government has so far taken any action against any official who might have been responsible the avoidable tragedy, they said, adding, “Merely issuing an advisory or making recommendations will hardly work unless accountability is fixed in this case.”