Toxic Fly Ash in Water in Maharashtra

Chandrapur district in Maharashtra is already listed as one of the critically polluted areas by the Government of India. Excessive pollution from the power plant, the mines of Western Coalfields Limited and the numerous metallurgy related industries in the district are seen as the primary reason for such pollution. Apart from polluting the water, air and the land in the region, the Chandrapur super thermal power plant (2340 MW) also faces water shortages nearly every summer and competes with the residential needs of the district's population. Bhusawal power plant (1420MW), is located in the Bhusawal taluka of Jalgaon district in North Maharashtra. Although not as bad as Chandrapur, it does contribute to the increased pollution in the district. Stories of declining fisheries in the Tapi River over the last 2 decades and air bound ash affecting well known Banana farms of Jalgaon district are very common. Despite all these problems linked to coal mining and coal based power generation, there are about 80,000 MW of coal-based power plants are being proposed in the state of Maharashtra. This can lead to large scale pollution of water resources as well as water scarcity in the rivers and reservoirs of the state in the near future. Additional information:
Formed out of coal combustion at thermal power plants, cenosphere is an inert, fine substance containing silica and alumina and filled with air or inert gas. Low in density (about 0.4–0.8 g/cm³), and tough, waterproof, and insulative in nature, cenosphere is used as fillers in cement, metals and polymers and even in paints.