ANGUL: Tension mounted in Talcher coal belt on Sunday with five villagers of Hensmul, who are on a hunger strike since Friday, taking ill. Piqued over the stand of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited over submission of affidavits by the villagers, the aggrieved villagers launched indefinite hunger strike in front of the office general manager of Jagannath area on Friday.
While MCL authorities are adamant on their stand that the terminated villagers have to give fresh affidavits, the villagers refused to do so, describing it as illegal and arbitrary.
The affidavit, among other things, has to state that ancestral houses of the villagers have to be demolished after they are provided temporary accommodation.
The company officials cited the minutes of a meeting held by their functional directors in 2011 relating to another village in this regard.
As a result of the deadlock, 122 villagers, who have been offered jobs by MCL, are yet to join their duty even after the Sub-Collector directed them on July 6.
Collector SR Jadav refused to intervene in the MCL official policy. The two mines are functioning normally.
Meanwhile, the villagers have expressed their resentment over the fact that though MCL CMD SN Sahay visited Talcher on Saturday, he did not interact with them or listen to their grievances.