NTPC plant ash leak in MP contaminated farms, claim villagers NFL posts record fertiliser sales at 27 lakh tonnes in April-sept BANGLADESH ALLOWS INDIAN CARGO THROUGH CHATTOGRAM, MONGLA PORTS: MANDAVIYA EIL to soon start work on $1.2 bn Mongolian refinery

SINGRAULI: A breach in an artificial pond that stored fly ash, toxic residue from a coal power plant run by public sector National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), has contaminated farmland in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli, villagers have alleged.

Authorities said no one was injured in the incident which took place at 4 pm on Sunday inside the boundary wall of the power plant, over 650 km from Bhopal, adding the leak has been contained. NTPC officials said some cattle were swept away in the incident. The plant officials and Singrauli districts Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhijeet Ranjan said the company has suffered major losses as costly machinery used for construction was swept away and immersed in nearby Rihand dam which is connected with these ash ponds. Rihand dam was constructed for supplying water to the power plant.

Singrauli Collector KVS Choudhary, who visited the spot, told reporters that no damage to land or crop has been noticed. "If any damage is caused due to the breach, then NTPC will compensate people for it," he said.

Three labourers, Santosh Saket, Arvind Saket and Raju working on a pump house near the dam were trapped in the slush after the breach but were rescued by the police team, Vindhyanagar police station in-charge, Manish Tripathi said.

NTPC Vindhyachals assistant manager and public relations officer, Lalmani Pande said, "a committee is being constituted to probe into the breach. Initial investigation suggests that it took place because of high level hydro static pressure due to continuous rains since last 10-15 days in the region." He denied that the slush has affected nearby villages and clarified that it was confined to the plant premises.

No injury or loss of life and property took place because of this incident, he said. NEW DELHI: State-run National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) on Monday said it has achieved record sales at 27 lakh tonnes during the first half of the current financial year.

The company's fertiliser sales stood at 21.62 lakh tonnes during April-september period of the last fiscal.

"Breaking all previous records, the NFL has achieved 27 lakh tonnes of fertiliser sales during the Kharif 2019 (April -September) season, which is 25 per cent higher than the yearago period," the NFL said.

Sale of urea rose 20 per cent while that of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) grew by 80 per cent in the said period.

"This has been achieved despite lower production of urea at Vijaipur unit by 1.22 lakh tonnes during June-july, 2019 as compared to that of the corresponding period of last year due to technical problems," the Uttar Pradesh-based company added. The company imported around 5.73 lakh tonnes of DAP, muriate of potash (MOP), NPK fertiliser and water soluble fertiliser; and all are being sold in the domestic market. NEW DELHI: India can now use two crucial Bangladesh ports - Chattogram and Mongla - for shipment of its cargo, which will cut time and cost significantly, Union Minister Mansukh Lal Mandavia said on Monday.

The development comes against the backdrop of a pact signed by both the nations on October 5 in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina here.

"Prime Minister Modi's successful foreign policy initiative has resulted in Bangladesh allowing use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of goods to and from India..," Shipping Minister Mandaviya told media persons.

The use of these two ports will reduce the distance between Kolkata and northeast region significantly.

The standard operating procedure (SOP) on use of Chattogram and Mongla ports has been finalised after the two countries signed an MOU on June 6, 2015 and an agreement on October 25, 2018, the minister said.

During the visit of Bangladesh PM Hasina, an SOP was signed by the two countries, which allowed India to use Chattogram and Mongla ports for movement of goods.

The agreement and SOP permit the movement of goods in Bangladesh through waterways, rail, road or multi-modal transport.

"Eight routes are provided under the Agreement which would enable access of North East Region (NER) via Bangladesh. The routes are: Chattogram/mongla Port to Agartala(tripura) via Akhura, Chattogram/mongla Port to Dawki (Meghalaya) via Tamabil, Chattogram/mongla Port to Sutarkandi (Assam) via Sheola and Chattogram/mongla Port to Srimantpur (Tripura) via Bibirbazar and vice versa," Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.

The conclusion of the SOP on Chattogram and Mongla ports will reduce distance, time and logistic cost for transport of goods and is a win win situation for both the economies, it said.

"Three landlocked states of India viz Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura will get access to open sea trade routes from Chattogram and Mongla ports via Indian ports. Tripura will be connected to Chattogram Port through the Maitreesetu on Feni river at Sabroom in South Tripura and Ramgarh in Bangladesh. While Agartala is 135 kms from Sabroom, Chattogram port is 75 kms from Sabroom," the statement said.

Cargo transportation through IBP waterway route from Kolkata/ Haldia to northeast is limited to 2,000 tonne vessels. Now, larger ships carrying cargo destined for northeast can call at Chattogram and Mongla ports thereby increasing trade volumes and reducing logistic costs, it added.

"The expected cargo to North East is construction material, iron & steel, fertilizer, consumer goods, POL, cement etc. Foodgrains, fruits, organic products, tea, fish, jute etc are the cargo expected to be transported from the North East to various parts of India through Chattogram and Mongla ports," the minister said.

On shipping and maritime affairs, India and Bangladesh have had very close cooperation in the last few years.

Under the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade, in addition to the five Ports of Call (POC), Dhubri (India) and Pangaon (Bangladesh) have been added and both the countries have agreed to add for more POCS.

"Dredging has commenced under an MOU signed by the two countries on development of fairway in selected stretches of Bangladesh waterways with Government of India bearing 80 per cent of the project expenditure and the balance by Government of Bangladesh. Cruise services have also commenced between the two countries promoting people to people contact after an MOU and SOP were signed," the statement said. NEW DELHI: Decks have been cleared for state-owned Engineers India Ltd to begin construction of a petrochemical refinery in Mongolia. EIL, a PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is the project management consultant for the development of the oil refinery.

During the ongoing visit to Mongolia, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is expected to finalise the roadmap to commence construction of the refinery, which is being touted as the largest project being undertaken by the government of India under its Lines of Credit programme.

Sources said that after this visit, firm agreements are expected on work programmes for the refinery. The petrochemical refinery — near Sainshand in southern Dornogovi province — is to be built at an approximate cost of $1.25 billion. It is being developed under a line of credit of $ 1.236 billion extended by India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mongolia in 2015 and subsequently enhanced during the state visit of the President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga to India in September.

The refinery is expected to be completed by 2022 and will help Mongolia to cut some of its dependence on Russian fuel. Though Mongolia is self-sufficient in oil and has its own oil fields, almost all of its crude oil is exported and all of its finished petrochemical products are imported. The refinery will reduce Mongolia's import dependence and will ensure energy security for the country.

The refinery is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 mmtpa (million metric tons per annum), with diesel and gasoline as the primary products and LPG, fuel oil and jet fuel being produced as secondary products.