No dismantling, four mega cooling towers of Bathinda plant to live on as landmark

Four mega cooling towers of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda, deemed to be monuments will not be brought down as the process of dismantling of

Four mega cooling towers of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda, deemed to be monuments will not be brought down as the process of dismantling of the now defunct unit has been started.

The now defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda.

As per the plan of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), e-auctioning to disassemble the power generation facility will be held on August 20 and bids for the same can be uploaded on July 20.

PSPCL controller (store and disposal) Mohinder Singh Khosla said , the state government has decided to keep the towers intact since the structures had enormous heritage value.

“The state government has directed to dismantle the plant that was decommissioned over two years ago. Civil structures, including chimneys and machinery used in power generation besides cables and pipes will be disposed of,” said Khosla.

The government is planning to set up a mega industrial zone at the site of the thermal plant.

Opposition parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) besides employees of state power department and various farmer unions have been protesting against the decision to wind up the power plant that was set up in 1974.

The cooling towers of the thermal plant are often confused with smoke-emitting chimneys.

Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who is local Congress MLA, earlier this week met Union minister of chemicals and fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda and sought setting up of a pharmaceutical park in Bathinda.

Manpreet has been claiming that 1,350 acre land at the plant site would be utilised for an industrial hub but some officials say it is to be seen how the industrial plan is conceptualised with four towers covering a sizeable area.