The torrential rains lashing the state, particularly the Telangana region, for the last two weeks had caused significant loss to the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Since July 1, SCCL had suffered losses to the tune of `35 crore because of a production shortfall of 2 lakh tonne of coal as parts of the 15 opencast mines spread over Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts were waterlogged.
According to SCCL general manager (coordination) S Chandra Sehkar, the losses since July 1 amount to one and a half day of coal production. About 15 percent of the daily production was hit due to rains.
“It was not just rains, but also delays in the lifting of overburden coal, which is currently at 4.5 lakh cubic meters. The removal of overburden was outsourced and there is delay in the operations,” he explained.
However, the shortfall in coal production at the SCCL will not have any impact on thermal power stations as there is no interruption in supply. Further, the target for coal production is not uniform. In the first quarter, it is 24 percent, second quarter 22 percent, third quarter 26 percent and fourth quarter 28 percent.
According to the fuel supply agreement (FSA), SCCL caters to 75 percent of the coal needs of sponge iron and cement industries and 100 percent of power plant needs. Moreover, the customers of SCCL are required to maintain coal buffer for 14 to 21 days, he said.
Though torrential rains had affected mining in opencast mines, there was no affect in 56 underground mines.
When it rains, groundwater levels increase, which invariably brings water into parts of underground mines. There is a setup to have such water collected into a sump and drain out from time to time. “There has been no breakdown of operations in underground mines,” Chandra Shekar said.
Underground mines of SCCL are below the known highest flood level and in some cases the entrance to those mines is also under that level. Water levels of Godavari and it tributaries are constantly monitored and whenever the levels indicate alarming rise, warning signals are given and the personnel are evacuated from the mines.
However, according to SSCL officials, there is no such situation prevalent at present.