Coal production came to a grinding halt in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in the Ramagundam coal belt region in Karimnagar district following the bandh call given by the Joint Action Committee demanding separate Telangana, on Friday.
The JAC members and Telangana supporters set fire to a dumper belonging to the Open Cast Project (OCP)-3 in the Ramagundam-3 region demanding the management to observe bandh on Friday. On Thursday night, the protesters damaged eight lorries, a jeep and a car belonging to a private contractor in the coal belt region.
They also damaged a railway cabin at Laxmipur village, which monitors the track movement from OCP-2 to NTPC Ramagundam for coal supply.
Since morning, the workers abstained from their duties and the JAC members obstructed the administrative work by stopping the employees at the General Manager’s office. Coal workers and trade union leaders participated in the bandh and went round all the 12 underground mines and four OCPs in the region forcing the closure of all mines, raising slogans of “Jai Telangana.”
In the Ramagudam region alone, about 1 lakh tonnes of coal was lost following the bandh. Similarly, the bandh was total in the neighbouring Mandamarri, Bellampalli, Srirampur and Kagaznagar mines in Adilabad district. Reports said about 30,000-odd workers in the Ramagundam coal belt region had abstained from their duties.
Convenor of BJP Singareni struggle committee against the OCPs S. Kumar said the JAC leaders were contemplating launching indefinite strike in the Singareni mines demanding the formation of Telangana at the earliest.
