SME Times News Bureau | 16 Jan, 2019
Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has written to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik requesting speedy resolution of the issues that have caused an
indefinite strike in the Talcher coalfields of state-run Mahanadi
Coalfields Ltd (MCL) that has disrupted production.
The Talcher
coalfields have been completely shut for the last three days owing to
the indefinite strike called by the Talcher Surakshya Manch, the letter
accessed by IANS says.
"It (strike) has reached the stage wherein
mines safety has been adversely affected and may worsen as the machine
deployed in mines may get submerged due to stoppage of pumping
operations," Goyal said.
"This has already caused loss of coal
production of more than 1 MT (million tonnes) at the rate of more than 3
lakh tonnes per day."
Goyal noted that in an earlier letter to
Patnaik, he had pointed out how the frequent disruption in mining
operations in Talcher were adversely affecting the investment climate in
Odisha.
Requesting the Chief Minister's support to end the
"impasse", Goyal wrote: "By December 2018, MCL has already suffered
production loss of nearly 20 MT, which has resulted in revenue loss of
about Rs.1,130 crore to the government of Odisha."
