A power plant in Bellary

Development

Bellary has always been synonymous with iron ore. The other associations include those who made a fortune overnight thanks to mining, and those who gained notoriety too.
Bellary has always drawn the state’s attention thanks to politicians with muscle and money power.  Meanwhile, not many know that Bellary is at the forefront of power generation, with the Kudithini power plant located here.

The Kudithini power plant was inaugurated last year. This plant fulfills ten per cent of the state’s power needs. It is also on its way to increasing its power generation capacity in the near future.

The power plant is located near Kudithini village on the Bellary-Hospet road. It is 27 kilometres from Bellary.

The power plant has several special features. While the Raichur power plant has seven units if 210 MW capacity each, the first unit of the Kudithini power plant has a power generation capacity of 500 MW. Two more units are in the pipeline too. The state needs 120 to 130 million units of power every day.

The Bellary plant generates 10 to 12 million units. On an annual basis, the plant generates 3504 million units of power.

The Kudithini plant is located on 1,750 acres of land. From the road connectivity point of view, it is located at an excellent junction and is well-connected to other places in the region.

The proposal for the project was first chalked out in the Nineties. The project was kickstarted in the year 2003. It was BHEL that won a contract for Rs 2,100 crore and started work on the project. It was on January 3, 2007 that the boiler started functioning.

However, it was on July 28, 2008 that power generation began here. It was on November 3 last year that veteran leader L K Advani dedicated the plant to the nation.
But what has been worrying for those who gave up their land for the project is that they have not been offered employment at the plant in spite  of rules that clearly say so. Not much has come out of protests by those affected, either. But, the Karnataka Power Corporation sources point out that it has been decided to identify beneficiaries from the affected families and offer them employment.

The chimney at the plant stands tall and can be sighted from a distance. No wonder, because at 275 metres, it is one of the tallest structures here.

Best concrete building

The plant has also won the ‘Best Concrete Building’ award conferred by the Indian Concrete Institute in 2005. Authorities at the plant point out that because the chimney is so tall, there is no threat from the environment point of view as well.

The first two units of the plant require one tmc of water annually. The water is supplied from a village called Marali at Gangavathi, 37 kilometres away.

Water that is purified from the village’s tank is supplied to a tank in the plant’s premises by way of pipelines. The water is collected in a tank and used later.

Water from the village is supplied to the plant for nine months of the year. The water that is saved in the tank is used for the remaining three months of the year.

It has been proposed to use water from the river Krishna for the third unit, that is being planned here.

Power generation at the plant requires 7200 tonnes of coal on a daily basis. This coal is procured from the KPC-owned mine (Nagpur’s Western Coal Field). A huge pit has been constructed to collect ash that comes from burning coal.

The power generated here is supplied to the KPTCL by the KPC. The responsibility of distributing the power lies with the KPTCL. Every unit of electricity generated here is sold at Rs 2.26.

The authorities at the plant point out that by supplying uninterrupted power from the last 60 days, it has established itself as a plant with great power generation capacity.
Meanwhile, work on the second unit of 500 MW capacity is on. The Rs 2170-crore work contract has been awarded to the BHEL. Construction of the 146-metre tall chimney and a cooling tower are in progress.

A mammoth boiler drum has recently been installed. This boiler heats the water and runs the turbines.

It has been 19 months since work started on the second unit of the plant. The target to complete works has been set at 38 months. Preparations are also on to start work on the third unit. The state government on its part has sought the centre to grant the project a mega project status. What happens on that front needs to be watched.