Team Herald
VASCO: Sudden smoke emission from Adani’s coal stack yard located inside Mormugao Port operational area triggered panic among the citizens of the port town on Monday evening.
As per the information, on Monday evening, the locals of Headland Sada were surprised to see smoke emanating from the coal stock yard at Adani’s coal handling area. Initially, they assumed that that smoke would be normal affair as the same could be due to spontaneous coal combustion activity and would stop soon. However, the coal stack was emanating noxious fumes whole night and the attempts by authorities concerned to douse the fumes were futile.
“We were completely shocked to see that coal stack releasing noxious fumes whole night. All this is because the Adani’s have been ignoring all norms and they always have been stacking coal at their stack yard above the prescribed height limit,” said Parshuram Shetye, an anti-coal activist from the port town.
A video on Monday’s smoke emission incident was shared by Shetye on social media and soon after the video went viral.
, other anti-coal activists from the port town also started giving their reaction by lambasting MPT and Adani for playing with the lives of the people of Vasco.
“I have seen the incident video on social media. These fumes are highly flammable and there could have been a disaster in Vasco because Ammonia tank owned by Zuari Industries is located hardly 20 meter from the Adani’s coal stack yard. This could have led to a major disaster in Vasco due to existence of Ammonia tank and petroleum berth (berth number 8) which is located just 150 meters away,” said Vasco-based Environmental activists Advocate Savio J F Correia.
He also pointed out that considering fire hazards, Adani’s and other coal handling agencies at MPT were asked to stack their coal stock at the maximum height of 6 meters but on the ground the Adani’s have been stacking their coal cargo at 15 meters height, which according to Correia is a major violation and thus Monday’s incident was reported.
“More the height of commodity, more the fumes will be generated. If the stack was at 6 meters, then, so much of fumes might not have been emitted,” Correia claimed.
Confirming the information of smoke emission, a senior official from Adani said, “Actually it was smoke that started emanating after stack got heated, however there was no burning and it is stopped now. We are arranging to clear the cargo as early as possible.”
