KHAMMAM/BHUPALPALLY/PEDDAPALLI: Coal production in most mines of the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), situated at various places across the State, came to a standstill on Wednesday, which marked the first day of a three-day strike called by several workers’ unions against the Central government’s decision to private coal mines.
Almost 75 per cent of SCCL employees working in the coal belt area of erstwhile Khammam district boycotted work and staged protests in Kothagudem, Yellandu, Manuguru and Sathupalli against the Centre’s move to auction coal mines.
Scores of Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) activists and TRS leaders held protest programmes at the SCCL mines in both Kothagudem and Khammam districts. They also staged a protest at the corporate office of SCCL, in Kothagudem.
TRS district leader Vanama Raghavendra Rao, TBGKS leaders Somi Reddy, Razaack, Kapu Krishna, Kothagudem municipal chairperson Kapu Sitalakshmi, vice-chairperson Damodar and several other took part in the protests.
Speaking on the occasion, Raghavendra Rao assured the employees that both Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Kothagudem MLA Vanama Venkateswar Rao would stand by their demands and protect their interests in the wake of Centre’s decision to privatise coal mining.
While addressing the media, he alleged that the Centre was acting unilaterally, without considering the interests of workers. He also urged the Central government to immediately withdraw its decision to privatise coal mining.
Meanwhile, the leaders and cadre of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and its workers’ union All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) staged a protest in Khammam. Speaking on the occasion, CPI State secretariat member B Hemantha Rao and AITUC district president G Lakshminarayana also demanded the BJP-led Central government to withdraw the decision to auction coal blocks.
Employees boycott work in Bhupalpally
In accordance with the strike call by various employees’ unions, the SCCL workers in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district also boycotted work on Thursday. The union workers staged a protest here and demanded the Centre to withdraw the proposal for privatization of coal mines.
With this, the coal mining processes at the Singareni mines has hit a roadblock. The leaders of several political parties and unions took part in the protest. Meanwhile, the workers associated with the SCCL mine at Ramagundam also refrained themselves from discharging duties.
As a result, the coal production at the SCCL under ground and open cast mines in RG-1 area hit a roadblock, creating losses to the company. According to sources, the first day of the strike has hit coal production in the area to the tune of about 1.40 lakh tonnes.