Coal news and updates

MCL mines resume production after 4 days’ blockade

July 14: Three coal mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) resumed production on July 14 after remaining shut for four days due to protests by locals, a company official told ICMW.

“Production resumed at Bhubaneswari, Ananta and Jagannath mines from the first shift today. This was possible after the state administration forcibly removed the blockade by local villagers yesterday,” MCL spokesman Dikken Mehra said.

The four day’s closure has cost the miner 400,000 tons of production from these mines, he said.

The problem occurred as around 120 people of Hensumal village, staying in the coal- bearing area, refused to shift to a new site, Gurjang, which has been developed by MCL for their relocation. The relocation exercise is urgently required as the current mining locations have almost exhausted the reserves.

The company, Mehra said, has provided jobs to the villagers and also developed the Gurjang site at a cost of Rs 3.90 crore. Out of the 285 villagers in Hensumal, 159 have shifted by now but the remaining have demanded land in a coal-bearing area. However, as per the Coal Bearing Areas Acquisition & Development Act (1957), MCL cannot rehabilitate the people at their chosen site. This has resulted in a stalemate.

“Yesterday, the state administration forcibly removed the blockade, but this is only a temporary solution. If the people do not vacate their dwellings units by October, we would have no other option but to close down the mining operations in the area,” he added.