Two days of rain hits coal mines

Hyderabad: The last 48 hours of rains has created a flood situation with several water bodies overflowing and the Godavari approaching the third warning level on Sunday evening.

The coal belt has taken a hit affecting coal loading at the Talcher mines as well as at Ramagundam. The impact of the rain will be felt during the next two weeks and this may hit coal reserves at thermal stations although it might not affect the power situation immediately as hydel generation has picked up.

In Srikakulam district Vamsadhara project officials have sounded a flood alert. NTPC thermal plants have taken a hit here and are operating at 70 per cent load.

In Karimnagar, coal production was affected by the heavy rain which lashed Ramagundam on Saturday. Around 40,000 tonnes of coal could not be excavated from OCP-I and II after machinery was submerged in the rains, officials said.

Thermal plants in AP do not expect any immediate impact. “Paradip has one lakh tonnes of coal that can be transported via the sea. We also have one lakh tonnes of coal at Kakinada and Krishnapatnam plants,” said APgenco director T. Prabhakar Rao.