Contractors ferry fly ash from thermal power plant in Parli under police protection

Contractors ferry fly ash from thermal power plant in Parli under police protection

- Surendra P Gangan

MUMBAI: A significant move has been made to cut short criminal activities running rife in Beed — the ash mafia flourishing in the district's Parli tehsil has received a setback, as contractors have started lifting fly ash from the local thermal power plant, the Parli Thermal Power Project.

The mafia, purportedly supported by local politicians, is believed to be the backbone of all unlawful acts in Beed, whose murky underbelly was exposed following the brutal murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. He was killed when he tried to stop an extortion bid at a wind-mill plant in Massajog village.

The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company had allotted bids to lift wet fly ash, which is used in brick kilns and for road construction, from state-owned Parli Thermal Power Project in November 2023. However, contractors were unable to do the job, despite winning the bid to lift 140,000 metric tonnes (MT) at ₹353 per metric tonne, faced with resistance from the local ash mafia.