Coal news and updates

Dusty roads, sooty environs and undisposed municipal waste are commonplace in this coal town. But not many seem to be complaining. No wonder, pollution is a non-issue for politicians vying to win the battle of ballots.

 

"People here are habituated to high pollution. Coal workers are so used to it that few, if any, talk about it," BJP's Dhanbad nominee Raj Sinha said, explaining the reason why environmental degradation was not discussed by political parties in the run-up to the December 14 polls.

 

His rival, Mannan Mallick of Congress spoke along similar lines. "Pollution has never been a poll issue in this coal belt. People accept it because they have been leading their lives under such conditions for long," he said, adding, "It can be curbed if a lot of investment is done and mining is fully mechanised."

As elections knock on their doors, locals don't seem to be discussing it openly, not because they are not worried but political apathy over the decades have made them expect little from the netas.

 

"Elections have brought little change to our lives. Pollution has never been addressed effectively, although everyone, including the politicians, are its victims," said Ashok Paswan, a coal worker.

 

"Diseases such as chronic bronchitis, heart and cancer are routine, especially among coal workers. But not much is being done about it. Life goes on," he added.

 

The deep-rooted cynicism is not without reason. Government after government, company after company and elected representative after elected representative, no one has ever taken pollution head-on in this region, billed as the coal capital of the country.

 

"Dhanbad's coals are fired in power plants across the country. Houses are lit up in distant lands because of our raw material. But we remain condemned to a life of dirt and dust," noted Ram Kumar, an aging coal worker.

 

Going by a recent survey by Urban Emissions, an environment advocacy group, in 2011-2012, emissions from Indian coal plants resulted in 80,000 to 115,000 premature deaths and more than 20 million asthma cases from exposure to pollution.

 

It estimates the monetary cost associated with health impacts and lost workdays exceed Rs 16,000 to 23,000 crore per year.

 

The administration said it is in seize of the matter and trying to bring down pollution levels. "Because of concerted action during the past few years, Dhanbad, which the Central Pollution Control Board identified among 'critically polluted areas' in 2010, has shed the ignominy of being among the worst-polluted zones in the country. The Centre lifted the moratorium in 2013," said an officer.

 

Dhanbad's deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar told TOI: "We have taken a series of measures like making mandatory use of tarpaulin to cover coal being carried on trucks. Things have improved during the past few years and experts appreciated our efforts."

 

The city, however, struggles to remove its garbage. "There is no land to dispose the garbage," admitted sitting MLA and minister Mallik. Some locals blame Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) for not doing enough to address the issue.

 

"BCCL officers should be taken to task," said Sinha. But its chairman T K Lahiri told TOI, "We have put in a lot of effort in the last few years, resulting in reduction of pollution."

 

He lists reduction in Jharia coalmine fire from around 9sqkm to less than 2sqkm and taking up three-tier plantation, instead of single tier done earlier, for ecological restoration as key to improving environmental parameters.

 

"We have brought down the fire, leading to decrease in methane and carbon generation. We have taken up ecological restoration with help from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, and Delhi University over 50 hectare. We target to stop the Jharia fire completely and restore 225 sq km of degraded coal mine within five years. These should do the Dhanbad ecology a world of good," Lahiri added.

 

 

Source: ToI