Activities at the Talcher Coalfields, including mining and transportation, were brought to a grinding halt by a group of people protesting the arrest of 48 contractual labourers who have been obstructing the working at railway sidings 3 and 4 of the Bhubaneswari open casting project in the Jagannath area since October 17.
The agitators unleashed a reign of terror in the coalfields and went on a rampage ransacking the office of the project officer, lingaraj, as well as the office of the general manager, destroying computers and other official equipment, sources said.
The mob also set on fire a private oil tanker in the mining area of Bharatpur mines on Thursday evening and torched two vehicles parked in front of the railway siding and removed the fishplates from the railway tracks on Friday morning, the sources added.Meanwhile, reports also said that the irate workers on Friday set at least 35 vehicles, including 30 two-wheelers, and an office of the Mahanadi Coalfields limited (MCl) on fire at the Jagannath colliery railways siding.
Police rushed to the spot to prevent further violence. Preliminary reports said the violence broke out following a clash between two rival groups of workers over tender for coal loading. The Talcher Coalfields produces and dispatches around 2 lakh tonnes of coal per day and feeds the NTPC plants and Nalco power plant besides other power producers of the country. It is apprehended that a continued closure of the Talcher Coalfields would result in massive shortage of power in the State as well as in other States besides causing huge losses to the public exchequer.
The MCl appealed to all stakeholders to help resolve the crisis in the larger interests of the people, thereby ensuring uninterrupted coal supply.