Production has resumed at the three opencast coal mines of the Mahanadi Coalfields ltd (MCl) in Talcher, which had been shut since July 11 due to protests by villagers of Hensmul.
An MCl release said coal production and transportation restarted at the Bhubaneswari, Ananta and Jagannath mines on Monday evening following the Angul district administration’s intervention.
These mines have a combined daily production capacity of about one lakh tons, which is a third of the MCl’s output per day. The MCl halted operations at the mines after over a hundred people, who are staying in the mining zone, launched an indefinite shutdown in the area.
The company urgently needs the land to expand its mines as it has almost excavated coal from the existing location. Although the company has relocated some of the residents 15 km away from their village, these people want to be relocated to a particular site, which is a coal-bearing area in the middle of three main mining projects, an MCl official said.
“The company had offered many options to the villagers, including shifting to any place of their choice other than coal bearing areas, and cash compensation, but they were still protesting,” he said.
Describing the latest development as a temporary one, the official said if the people do not vacate their dwelling units by October, the company would have no other option but to close down the mining operations again in the area.
District Superintendent of Police Narasingh Bhol said mining operations were resumed after police chased the protestors away from the site and arrested eight of them.