Yermarus power station to get rail link by March

BENGALURU: To meet the coal demand at the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS), the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) is using 180-200 labourers to offload around 4,000 tonnes of coal which arrives by rail every day at the holding yard of the YTPS located in Kuknoor from the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL).

The entire load of each train is emptied within eight hours and is dispatched by road to the power station in order to keep it functioning continuously. In the recent past, a shortage in coal availability had forced thermal power stations to shut down production leading to a forced short-term purchase of power from other sources.

On Saturday, KPCL managing director G Kumar Nayak inspected the facilities and the work on adding a rail head at YTPS which would take the coal directly till the power station. Work on this is expected to be completed by March 2018, a statement from KPCL said.

Nayak also inspected construction work on a barrage along the river Krishna near Gurjapur village in order to supply water to YTPS during the summer months.

The project, being executed at a cost of `107 crore, is expected to be completed by April 2018 and storage of water will begin by February-March.

The bridge across the river as a result of the barrage will also help people in Yadgir district travel to Raichur, Sindanur and other places.