Manipur govt sets up 3-member panel to probe fuel leak in power station

Imphal: The Manipur government has constituted a three-member committee to make a detailed inquiry into fuel leak from a power plant in Imphal valley and spilling into streams flowing alongside, an official notification said.

The committee to be headed by Additional DGP (Intelligence) Ashutosh Kumar Sinha will have Power Secretary Shailesh Kumar Chaurasia and Additional Secretary Home Department M Pradip Singh as members, the notification issued on Thursday said.

"The committee will inquire into the cause of the incident of leakage including circumstances leading to it," it said.

The three-member committee will also inquire into the contributing factors that led to such an incident, suggest immediate and long-term measures for the safety and security of the plant, the notification said, adding that the committee shall submit its report to the state government within 15 days.

The constitution of the committee came a day after heavy fuel leaked from the Leimakhong power station in Kangpoki district and spilled along the streams passing through Kanto Sabal and Sekmai. The stream later falls into the Imphal river, which is the lifeline of Imphal Valley.

Heavy machinery was deployed to divert the flow of the water in the affected streams towards fields,