Day after exposé, thermal power plant officials ensure coal wagons are fully offloaded

RAICHUR: A day after Public TV reported about the pilferage of tons of coal from railway rakes at the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) and the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS), the authorities have woken up and ensuring that all the wagons are completely offloaded.

Surprisingly, the wagons are returning completely empty now.

Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have been deployed at the Yermarus railway station to oversee cleaning of the wagons after the coal is unloaded at the thermal power station.

The KPTCL team discussing with the railway authorities.

With the wagons being completely offloaded since today, questions are being raised as to how tons of coal were being brought out of the thermal power plants in the name of poor quality. Piles of good quality coal have been stocked outside the thermal power plant which the contractor claimed he can sell outside.

The team inspecting the coal removed from wagons; (right) CISF personnel have been deployed at the railway station.

The Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) has appointed a three-member committee to probe the pilferage and submit a report in three days. The team members Yathiraj, Ajay and N R Raghunath, visited RTPS, YTPS and the Yermarus railway station dump yard and also collected information from the power station and railway officials about the coal stocked outside the power plant premises.

The contractor says he is not getting any wastage since Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the contractor Srinivasulu of Andhra Pradesh, who arrived in Raichur following the report, claimed he is not pilfering the coal but was only taking the remnants. “Ask the railway authorities. I have paid money to the railways and I am collecting leftover coal”, he claimed.

On why there was no CCTV camera where the wagons are cleaned, he claimed that there is no electricity source. When questioned about the violation of tender norms, he said he will make amends.