TALCHER: The Bharatpur coal mine where four contractual workers were killed and nine others injured in a mishap last month has been closed under the orders of Central Mine Safety authorities to augment safety measures.
A coal official said prohibitory orders under Section 22 of Mines Act has been imposed at Bharatpur from Tuesday, banning production till further orders. As a result, no coal has been produced in the mine while eight other mines resumed production after the 14-day strike was called off on Tuesday.
Deputy Director-General of Mine Safety, Bhubaneswar region, Subro Bagchi said under the Act mining authorities have been asked to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the workers. A few days before the mishap, an inspection in the mine was carried out by the officials, he added.
About the inquiry into the mishap, Bagchi said the probe will take time as they have to cover various aspects and possible lapses. There will be a technical study into the incident, he added. Meanwhile, all other coal mines located at Talcher functioned normally from Tuesday. On Tuesday alone, the mines produced around 40,000-tonne coal. The Talcher coalfield normally produces more than two lakh tonne of coal per day.
Work is back to normal and power sector started drawing coal, said officials, adding the 24 power stations in nine States dependent on the coalfield too have heaved a sigh of relief.
The two NTPC power plants located nearby started receiving coal from Tuesday. Officials in the 3,000 MW NTPC-Kaniha plant said it turned on one 500 MW unit in addition to the two running. It had to shut down four 500 MW units due to the strike. Similarly, Talcher Thermal Power Station linked to the State also drew coal and resumed another 60 MW unit in addition to the one unit which it was running during the strike. It had closed four units for want of coal.