Talcher stares at bottomless depths

Will polls help fill the void left behind by mining, ask residents
Satyasundar Barik
TALCHER
This coal town in Odisha is sit-
ting on a ticking time bomb.
Even a minor earthquake
could result in this town with a
population of one lakh col-
lapsing like a house of cards.
Several experts and resi-
dents have raised the issue of
the town now existing over a
vast underground void left be-
hind by extensive coal mining.
With election season ap- In 32 years, 15 major cases of land subsidence have been reported,
proaching, residents, fed up the latest as recently as December 2018. BISWARANJAN ROUT
*

with official apathy for more

than three decades and bat-
tling for survival, seem to be in
no mood to give political par-
ties any leeway.
Uncertain future
“For years, the public sector
Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd.
(MCL), a subsidiary of Coal In-
dia Ltd., has been active in the
Talcher coalfields. Millions of
tonnes of coal have been quar-
ried through underground
mining. As per guideline,
mine void should haven
stowed with sand. But it has
not been done, pushing thou-
sands of people into uncertain
future,” said Bibhudendra Pra-
sad Das, president of Brahma-
ni Anchal Surakshya Parishad.
Director General of Mine
Safety in 2007 declared most
parts of Talcher township as
‘no construction zone’ due to
the mining void. Subsequent-
ly, the Talcher-Angul-Mera-
mundali Development Auth-
ority stopped approving
building construction in Ath-
arpa, Remuan, Koilunda and
Talcher township.
In 32 years, 15 major cases
of land subsidence have been
reported, the latest as recently
as December 2018, when a
four-foot-deep cavity sudden-
ly formed in the home of
Shantilata Bai in Talcher.
A couple of days after elec-
tion dates were announced,
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
shot off a letter to Union Coal
Minister Piyush Goyal saying,
“The MCL has already utilized
about 10,000 ha of land ac-
quired under Coal Bearing
Areas (Acquisition and Deve-
lopment) Act, 1957 for mining
activities. However, in its two
underground mines, closed
respectively 1998 and 2006,
MCL has just completed the
stand stowing work of 5.38
lakh cubic metre against the
requirement of over 9.15 lakh
cubic metre.”