Demonstrators demand adequate coal supply to Odisha industries

A large number of people from western Odisha staged a demonstration in front of the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) headquarters here Wednesday demanding adequate supply of coal to industries within the state.

People belonging to different spheres of life from places like Jharsuguda, Sundargarh and Sambalpur gathered outside MCL headquarters under the banner of "Bisthapit Sachetan Samiti" (BSS) to press their demand.

The demonstrators, led by Congress leader and MLA from Jharsuguda, Naba Kishore Das, who is also Convener of the Samiti, and senior Congress leader, Jagannath Pattnaik also submitted a memorandum to the Union Coal Minister through CMD of MCL, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra.

Das said coal produced in Odisha should be utilised in the state first and requirement of local industries which are the backbone of socio-economic development must be met.

The memorandum emphasised the need to increase MCL's production to bridge the demand-supply gap and urgent measures to be put in place by the company.

Necessary steps should be taken to ensure coal security for the home-grown industries in Odisha before making allocation for industries based elsewhere.

The memorandum also demanded that 90 per cent of the total CSR fund of the industries of this region should be spent in Western Odisha besides employment for the local deserving candidates in MCL. It said 20 per cent of the net profit should be spent on CSR programmes by MCL.

Receiving the memorandum from the protesters, MCL CMD Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said no industry in Odisha will be shut due to scarcity of coal.

"We have adequate coal. We have also set target to increase the coal production from 144 million tonne to 162.5 million tonne in the current fiscal year," he added.