The deadlock between the agitating villagers and the authorities of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) came to an end after the villagers were assured to be given a job in lieu of their land.
The villagers were, however, asked to give an affidavit, stating that they have to quit their homestead land within six months of being rehabilitated, failing which they would lose their jobs.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held in Bhubaneswar and chaired by P K Jena, the state energy secretary. The chairman cum managing director of MCL S R Upadhyaya, senior directors of the company and representatives of the agitating villagers were present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the operations of the two open cast coal mines- Hingula and Balaram, remained suspended for the eighth consecutive day due to villagers’ agitation.
It may be noted that earlier, the villagers of Kalamchuin, one of the affected villages, had resorted to agitation on last Monday, demanding jobs in lieu of their land which was rejected by MCL authorities, stating that the affected people would have to leave their homestead land first
The production loss from the two closed mines has been estimated at three lakh tonnes.
“We have so far sustained a production loss of about three lakh tonnes by the end of Sunday from these two mines due to closure”, said a local MCL official.
