Coal production hit as Singareni employees begin strike

Mancherial/Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Coal miners launched a three-day strike against the Union government’s decision to auction coal blocks, across mines and opencast projects in Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts on Thursday. Miners belonging to various trade unions including Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union […]

Mancherial/Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Coal miners launched a three-day strike against the Union government’s decision to auction coal blocks, across mines and opencast projects in Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts on Thursday.

Miners belonging to various trade unions including Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) boycotted duties in protest against the auctioning of the blocks.

The miners staged sit-in in front of underground mines and opencast projects and raised slogans against the Union government. They slammed the Centre for ruining Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) by way of privatisation of the blocks such as Kalyani Khani-6, Koyagudem-3, Satthupalli-3 and Shravanpall-3.

Manda Narasimha Rao, general secretary of CITU, told Telangana Today that the Union government was posing a threat to all sections of society by privatising 88 profit making coal blocks across the country. The leaders of national trade unions flayed the Centre for auctioning blocks across the country and thus affecting jobs of the miners.

The leaders cautioned that a nation-wide protest would be launched soon if the Centre does not cancel the decision. He stated that private agencies would charge more rates than that of SCCL for excavating coal, resulting in significant increase in the price of power. He requested the Union government to allow the State-owned coal major to mine coal from the blocks.

Miryala Raji Reddy, general secretary of TGBKS, criticised the Centre for privatising the blocks by auctioning the reserves. He alleged that the Union government was introducing anti-coal miner policies. He demanded it to withdraw the decision.

Owing to the strike, coal mining activity at the underground mines and opencast projects in Srirampur and Mandamarri areas of Mancherial district and Goleti Area of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district came to a halt. Excavation of about 2.50 lakh tonnes of coal is expected to be affected due to the protest.

Stop Singareni coal blocks auction: TRS MPs

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