ROURKELA: Angry villagers blocked coal transportation for several hours on Bankibahal-Taparai road in Hemgir block of Sundargarh district after a coal-laden truck crashed into a roadside house on Saturday morning.
The mishap triggered a road blockade at Bileimunda, halting traffic on the road used by multi-axle trucks for transporting coal from the mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to Chhattisgarh.
Claiming that road mishaps are rampant on the route due to incessant movements of coal carrying vehicles, villagers demanded immediate setting up of a separate coal corridor for transportation and stop the movement of coal through villages.
Balinga police outpost officer-in-charge Mahendra Sahu said that no injury or death occurred due to the mishap. Normalcy was restored after the vehicle owner agreed to compensate the house owner and authorities assured measures to prevent future mishaps, he added.
Earlier, villagers under Janshakti Bikash Parishad (JBP) had disrupted coal transportation over a coal corridor demand. Parishad leader Rajendra Naik said, to end their protest in April, the district administration informed that a proposal for six-lane road diversion in middle portion of the Bankibahal-Taparia road was finalised for a cost of around Rs 300 crore but there has been no progress.
The Bankibahal-Taparia road is about 17 km in length and the six-lane road diversion of 6.5-km length can bring partial relief. There is a demand for alternative coal transportation to give relief to villagers, stop mishaps and coal dust pollution, he added.
In November 2024, five persons died at Goikanpali, and two bikers were killed at Bileimunda in December 2024, leading to 18-20 hour road blockades and demand for coal corridor.