The Brahmani Anchal Suraksha Parishad has urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to direct the Union Government to shift the willing families of Talcher to safer places in view of subsidence occurring from time to time at different places in the underground coalmine town.
“Appropriate steps for filling up vacuum areas, created due to excavations of coals, at Talcher have not been taken by the Mahanadi Coalfield ltd. Though the CPSU had assured that it would take appropriate measures, subsidence occurred again at the Dera Colliery area of Talcher on April 14. People need to be protected from impending dangers,” parishad president Bibhudendra Pratap Das said in a petition to the highest human rights body recently.
Das expressed unhappiness that the subsidence occurred again despite the direction of the NHRC that had asked Union Coal Ministry to take appropriate measures to save lives and properties of people of Talcher.
“The action taken report submitted by the MCl to the NHRC is not at all believed in the wake of occurrence of subsidence,” Das stated, urging the NHRC to direct the Coal Ministry to shift the willing families to safer places soon.
Das said the State Government has time and again stated in the Assembly that appropriate steps have been taken to fill up vacuum of underground coalmines in Talcher. Even 654.78-hactare area spread across Remuna, Nizgarh Town, Athaarpa and Kulinda has been declared ‘no construction zone by the Talcher-Angul-Meramunduli Development Aughority (TAMDA).
He also appraised that the people of the ‘no construction zone, were not compensated by March, 2011, according to a Government reply in the Assembly. The Odisha High Court in its judgement on April 19, 1996 had directed the State Government to monitor pollution aspects of the area and directed the MCl to ensure that the disaster of loss of lives occurred in coalmine area in Bihar must not occur in Tarcher area.