2 weeks Ago
Vadodara: A massive fire charred vast amounts of material and equipment meant for the 70 MW solar power project by NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd in Dahod district on Tuesday. The fire was reported at 9.15pm on Monday in the Zer Falia neighbourhood of Bhatiwada village in Dahod taluka and it took around 12 hours to douse the blaze.
Due to the strong wind and dry conditions, the fire kept spreading and by late night had covered a large portion of the plot being used to store material and equipment. However the exact cause of the fire is being probed. Fire tenders were also called in from neighbouring Panchmahal, Mahisagar and Chhota Udepur districts.
Dahod collector Yogesh Nirgude said the extent of the losses was being assessed and the cause is being investigated by the police. A section of villagers is opposing the project. Some villagers also got into confrontations with workers at the site since Monday morning.
A contractor and his friend were attacked by a mob near the site around noon on Monday. A villager, Reman Vahoniya, went to the site and told those present to stop work on Monday morning. When the workers shot a video of Reman, he left after threatening to return with more people.
Around noon, a contractor named Harshad Chauhan was going to the site with his friend Amarsinh Parmar. They were intercepted by a group of men who came in an auto-rickshaw and on motorcycles. The men were carrying sticks and slings.
They damaged the car and beat up Parmar, even as he pleaded to be let go as he had nothing to do with the plant and was only a friend of the contractor. People from the group hit Parmar with stones on his head and he fell unconscious. An offence was registered regarding the incident in the evening.
The incident, however, is not being linked with the fire yet. "We are still investigating the matter and collecting evidence. The forensic team has not been able to do its work so far because of the smoke at the site.
Their report will be important for the investigation," said Dahod DSP Rajdeepsinh Zala. Some villagers are opposing the plant, claiming that the land on which it is coming up belongs to them. Nirgude dismissed the claim as false said that the district inspector of land records had surveyed the land to arrive at a decision.
It is also being probed if a a firetender from Santrampur in Mahisagar district that overturned due to unknown reasons, was the cause of fire..
