Coal news and updates

Five killed as coal block subsides

Five villagers were killed when a portion of a coal block subsided in the eastern part of the closed Borjora (north) coal block of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL). The incident took place under Mejia police station area of Bankura in the wee hours of Thursday. Four bodies have already been recovered.

Four of the deceased are Anil Ruidas, Shyamapada Ruidas, Lalmohan Ruidas and Haradhan Ruidas of Mejia's Borsal. The fifth, sources said, is from Ghutgoria.

Several villagers had gone to the abandoned coal mine, closed since April 1 this year. Sources said that the mine still has a coal reserve of about 56 million tonnes. The villagers had allegedly gathered there on Thursday morning to loot coal from the block.

TOI recently reported that closure of coal blocks in the area following a Supreme Court order has triggered incidents of subsidence, pit fires and coal theft in the blocks of West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL), Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL) and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

The Supreme Court has ordered closure of the 43 running coal blocks and directed the Centre to float tenders again. The Centre floated tenders and completed the process by March 31. But except Asansol's Sarsathali block, none has started production.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com