Talcher tense, mining operation comes to a halt

OST Bureau
Talcher, Nov 30:

Situation in the colliery town of Talcher continued to remain tense today although no fresh incidents of violence have been reported.

The workers have not reported for work at any of the mines of Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited (MCL) after Friday’s violent clashes. This has affected mining operations across seven collieries owned by the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), sources said.

The local MLA Brajakishore Pradhan who was injured in the attack has said the contractor and his henchmen had attacked job hungry villagers in a brutal manner.

Significantly, Pradhan alleged that some senior police officials were hand in glove with the contractor and that explained why the local police did not take any steps to prevent violence.

Incidentally, the conflict between the contractor and the retrenched workers had been building up over the past few days and the police were aware of it. In fact the MLA and 90 others were taken into police custody as a preventive measure on Thursday following tension in the area.

It is still not clear, why neither the district administration nor the MCL authorities make adequate police arrangements in the area when the situation had already become explosive.

Reports said NTPC had to shut down three of its units due to shortage of coal following halting of production in MCL mines. Power generation has been affected following NTPC shutting down three of its units.

Twelve platoons of policemen have been deployed to maintain law and order.