Nationwide strike disrupts coal production in Kothagudem; 20,000 tonnes lost

Massive rallies were taken out by trade unions including AITUC, IFTU, INTUC, CITU, TBGKS, TUCI and AIKS, alongside Left parties such as CPI, CPI(M), and CPI(ML) Massline at the district headquarters in Khammam and Kothagudem.

Khammam: Coal production in the Kothagudem region came to a halt on Wednesday as Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) workers joined the nationwide strike called by ten central trade unions to protest against the Centre’s labour and privatisation policies.

This was despite the SCCL management’s appeal to abstain from the strike, which passed off peacefully across the erstwhile Khammam district.

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Operations were disrupted in both opencast and underground mines located in Yellandu, Kothagudem and Manugur areas. Company officials said that during the first and general shifts, only 295 of 1,637 workers reported for duty, while in the second shift, 105 of 363 workers attended. However, offloading contract workers reported in full strength.

The strike resulted in a production loss of nearly 20,000 tonnes of coal in the Kothagudem area alone.

Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) state chief general secretary Kapu Krishna, along with other members of the trade unions Joint Action Committee (JAC), staged a dharna at the SCCL head office in Kothagudem, extending solidarity with the national call to protest the “anti-labour” policies of the BJP-led Central government.

Massive rallies were taken out by trade unions including AITUC, IFTU, INTUC, CITU, TBGKS, TUCI and AIKS, alongside Left parties such as CPI, CPI(M), and CPI(ML) Massline at the district headquarters in Khammam and Kothagudem. Most business establishments remained shut through the day.

Electricity department employees also boycotted work and staged a protest at the Bhadrachalam division office premises under the banner of TGPE JAC, following a nationwide call by NCCOEEE. JAC district convener DE Jeevan Kumar, speaking at the dharna, demanded the withdrawal of moves to privatise power utilities.