Mahanadi Coalfields cuts 25 percent output after protest

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a unit of state-run Coal India Ltd, has cut its daily output and dispatch by 25 percent following protests by local people at its mines in Odisha, a company official said.

Hundreds of residents of Dera village in Angul district have been staging protests in the company's mines since April 8, demanding jobs and seeking solution to other problems.

They have blocked roads and are not allowing transportation of the dry fuel. As a result production and dispatch have dropped at Jagannath, Bhubaneswari and Ananta mines, company spokesman Vinayak Jamwal told IANS.

These mines contributed 35 percent of MCL's total output of 121 million tonnes during the financial year that ended on March 31.

Coal supply to the power consumers in Odisha and Tamil Nadu has been affected due to the protest, he said.

MCL is the second largest coal producing subsidiary of the world's largest coal miner Coal India.

MCL produces about 3.5 lakh tonnes of coal daily from its two major coal reserves in Odisha - Talcher Coalfields in Angul district and Ib Valley Coalfields in Jharsuguda and Sundergarh districts.