Post News Network
Talcher, August 2: Residents in Talcher coal belt Sunday woke up to fresh shock after the ground near the Jagannath temple flattened downward and formed into a large crater.
The incident triggered panic among the residents as they rushed out of their houses and gathered at the site apprehending danger to their lives. Locals alleged that Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL) having 10 coalmines and the local administration have never shown any concern for safety of the people following which the ground depression has become a regular occurrence in the area.
The residents lamented that despite repeated occurrences of such incidents, the MCL and administrative authorities have not cared to address the problem. This has happened as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) intervening over a complaint had asked Coal India Ltd (CIL) to file a reply over the steps taken to address the problem
The incident occurred outside the house of a retired police officer Murali Das near the Jagannath temple situated on the bank of river Brahmani where a heavy vehicle had been parked last night. Residents woke up and found the ground near the rear tyre of the vehicle had flattened downward and had formed into a large crater.
The crater initially having a circumference of seven-ft and about 10-ft deep was found expanding with cracks appearing on the ground. After reports surfaced, locals thronged the spot to have a glimpse of the crater.
Mine authorities, police and revenue officer Daridrya Bhanjan Mohapatra also reached the spot to take stock of the situation. The mines authorities in a bid to suppress the matter tried to fill sand into the crater and level up the area but made no attempt to ascertain the reason behind formation of such a large crater. Locals termed the crater as an imminent danger as hundreds of students of two schools and tenants of Samant quarters near the temple daily commute through the route.
They alleged that MCL despite making huge profits from coal extraction and transportation have never felt the need to fill up the underground coal mines with sands after extracting coals. The callous attitude of the coal major has resulted in depression of the ground and formation of large crater.
