Aquatic life safe, tests underway

on april 24, 7,000 litres of heavy furnace oil leaked into the Sutlej river after a pipeline burst at the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant at Ropar in Punjab.

A senior plant official said the welding in the pipeline could have given way due to heat and fatigue. Water samples collected by the Punjab Pollution Control Board found oil and grease content in the river but they found little damage to aquatic life.

Water samples at a distance of five km from the plant had oil and grease content of 10mg/l.