Strike paralyses Talcher coalfield

The strike by private drivers and operators at Talcher coalfield of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) from yesterday has paralyzed the coal production and dispatches from the coalfield. The coal supply to Nalco’s captive power plant at Angul was seriously affected with no dispatches today. The plant received only 7000 tonnes of coal yesterday as against the normal drawal of 16000 tonnes per day from Talcher coalfield.

Similarly, supply to NTPC Kaniha plant today dropped to only 20,000 tonnes from the normal level of 45,000 tonnes per day. However, there was no impact on supply to the plant yesterday.The strike has also hit coal dispatches to other power stations outside the state, according to an MCL official. The official said, there was production loss of 0.28 million tonnes of coal due to the strike. This is a set back to the efforts to step up production in the coalfield which is trailing the comparative production figures of last year and that of Ib valley, the coalfield under MCL.