Two days after a violent clash paralysed mining in Talcher coal belt of Odisha’s Angul district, prohibitory orders were clamped in the area on Sunday to prevent any further trouble while local MLA Braja Kishore Pradhan was sent to jail in connection with the violence.
Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were imposed in several areas of the coal belt as a precautionary measure as tension prevailed after arrest of the local legislator, a senior official said.
“Situation in Talcher is tense but under control,” a police officer said, adding that shops and business establishments remained closed in the area where some people protested the arrest of Pradhan for his alleged role in the violence.
Mr. Pradhan, who was produced before a magistrate here late last night after being arrested for interrogation, was sent to judicial custody for 14 days as his bail plea was rejected, the officer said.
Police has prima facie evidence on Mr. Pradhan’s involvement in the violence, Angul Superintendent of Police Narsinha Bhol said, adding that investigation was on.
Mining activities had come to a halt in the area since Friday following large-scale violence and clashes between two groups at the railway siding in Jagannath locality where over 40 vehicles were set on fire, police said.
Following disruption in coal production, power generation was stopped in three units of 500 MW each in NTPC’s Kaniha plant near Talcher in Angul district since Saturday, company sources said, adding that production was also affected to some extent in the remaining three units.
Generation was also disrupted in two 60 MW units at Talcher Thermal Power Station, sources said.
However, production was resumed in three of the ten collieries in the area on Saturday, following necessary security arrangements, an MCL official said.
The mines where production was resumed are Lingaraj, Bhubaneswari, Kaniha, he said, adding that three rakes of coal were also dispatched for NTPC plant at Kaniha.
The violence broke out when a group protested arrest of 48 contractual labourers who have been obstructing normal working of Railway siding 3 and 4 of Jagannath area since October 17, the official said.
Protesters went on a rampage ransacking the office of the project officer as well as the office of general manager Lingaraj, destroying computers and other official equipment, he said.
Talcher Coalfields produces and dispatches about 2 lakh tonnes of coal per day and feeds NTPC plants and NALCO CPP besides other power producers of the country and it was feared that continued closure would cause shortage of power to the state and nation besides huge loss to the state and central exchequer, MCL sources added.
