After refusal to finance the State Government’s dream project ‘Aahar’, allegedly under the influence of tmhe BJP, local groups, demanding periphery development, employment and other benefits, virtually stopped MCl transactions at Talcher for which the company had to incur heavy losses. Dispatch of coal from 25 MT Bhubneswari OCP and 10 MT Ananta OCP was severely affected after residents of Dera village blocked road and stopped transportation. As against daily dispatch target of 1, 13,666 tonnes, the company could dispatch only 61,793 tonnes on April 8 and 55,866 tonnes on April 9. There was zero coal dispatch from the Ananta OCP since April 8.
Besides affecting production and dispatch of coal, the protesters locked the Project Offices of Ananta and Bhubaneswari OCPs. Some protesters also ransacked the Office of the General Manager, Jagannath Area. Coal supply to various power plants from the Jagannath Area was reduced by 50 per cent. The protesters also stopped the movement of coal-laden trains. The Jagannath Area comprises three projects, namely Bhubaneswari OCP, Ananta OCP and Jagannath Colliery and contributes 35 per cent to the total coal production of the company.
It had clocked over 121 million tonnes coal production during the financial year ended March 31, 2015. Coal supply to the power consumers, including NTPC Kaniha, TTPS Talcher, Tamilnadu State Electricity Board, APGEMCO, Talwandisaboo, Sesa Sterlite-Jharsuguda, etc., from the Jagannath Area remained affected. While many BJD leaders provided tacit support to the protesters, the local administration was a mute spectator of the mess. Many top officials were confused now as to how to manage the Government, which is severely aggrieved for not getting assistance for its Aahar programme.
local MP Tathagat Satpathy earlier had suggested an economic blockade against MCl for not co-operating with the State Government in Aahar programme. But on the contrary, the BJP leaders publicly opposed any assistance to the Aahar programme. The MCl incurred heavy loss after sandwiched between this dirty politics of BJP and BJD.