The coal production in the MCL mines at the Talcher Coalfields was halted for a fourth day during the last five days. The impasse continued as the Talcher Suraksha Manch, an organisation backed by local BJD MLA Braja Kishore Pradhan, disrupted all mining activities for the second day in a row. Manch members have resorted to intimidating MCL employees, said a senior official of the company.
The MCL management has reportedly informed the comptent authorities in writing regarding the “illegal” strike called by the Manch.
The Talcher Coalfields was expected to produce 100 million tonnes of coal during the current year but, due to frequent stoppages, bandhs and land constraints ( a common phenomena in this field), the company has lost production to the tune of 21.74 MT. This has led to a direct loss of power generation to the tune of 35,073 million units and a loss of Rs 1,214.75 crore to the State exchequer.
While the Manch had raised a 16-point agenda, during the meeting convened by the Angul district Collector, some of the issues, which were beyond the purview of the company, and the rest were agreed to be resolved at the earliest. Despite this, the Manch has hindered the coalmine operation.
Inaction against the Manch has not only affected the MCL but also led to huge losses to the State exchequer. Besides, the nation suffered as electricity generation has been stopped. Will the Talcher Coalfields, supposedly the biggest coalfields in the country, bounce back or end up like FCI, Talcher?