Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) today alerted its safety set up to plan for quick and structural inspection of safety conditions of mines because of prolonged obstruction and illegal stoppage of country’s largest Talcher Coalfields for last eleven days. MCL, which has in place a five-layered safety mechanism to ensure incident-free mining operations, would allow movement of men and machinery to resume operations only after clearance from the statutory authorities of respective mining units.
MCL sources said illegal stoppage of mines has made vulnerable the mining conditions at Talcher coalfields as the daily safety assessments by mines authorities have not been allowed by some locals, following an accident due to strata failure in a mine under Bharatpur area on July 23 last.
While the company is exploring all possibilities to resume mining operations at the earliest, the forceful stoppage of safety teams to inspect mines, transport roads and roadworthiness of vehicles in Talcher coalfields makes mines further vulnerable.
Sources said it would take time for the Mines Safety and Operations teams to make fully operational the mines lying idle for the last over 10 days. Even the four trade unions have expressed fears of mines safety and handed over their memorandum to the Angul Collector, on August 1, urging him to intervene in the matter and restore normalcy.
Meanwhile, in addition to an inquiry being conducted by the Director-General Mines Safety (DGMS) and Internal Safety Organisation (ISO), MCL has appointed Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), Dhanbad, — an institution of national repute under CSIR, Govt of India – to submit their report.
MCL has suffered a production loss of 18.94 lakh tonne coal valuing Rs 170.96 crore since July 24 last. The exchequer loss to the State and the Centre is estimated at Rs 124.46 crore. It is also estimated that 3005.77 Million Units of power generation has been suffered by the power generators due to zero supply of fuel from Talcher coalfields.
The company has offered ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh along with full compensation as per Employees Compensation (Amendment) Act 2017, having the compensation payment ranging from Rs four lakh to Rs nine lakh on the basis of age factor, Gratuity & Provident Fund as due, besides a job in contractual works to a member of deceased worker’s family. However, after a political outfit, which had resorted to mine stoppage following Bharatpur accident, has called off their strike.
But some villagers of Talcher with unjust demands of Rs three crore as compensation and a permanent job in MCL to the deceased workers of a contractor firm have resorted to illegal obstruction in mining operations since July 31, pushing the power industries to face coal crisis.
Besides heavy earth moving equipment deployed in mines and over 13,000 employees of the company, around 10,000 contractors’ workers forced to sit idle while coal mines-dependent over 20,000 Transporters’, allied service providers, small and medium businessmen and their families are also suffering financial losses due to the agitation.
(UNI)
