The fire beneath : Jharia may turn into a ghost town soon

The threat of underground fire in Jharia leading to land cave-inhas already affected railways in the region. In March 2007, the 22-kmDhanbad-Jharia-Pathardih track was dismantled while the railway stationcomplex of Jharia is "abandoned" since 2005.

In 1996, the Union government formed a committee to probe the underground fire. On finding that the fire could not be doused, it recommended shifting the entire Jharia town and 23 surrounding villages to two resettlement colonies.

Under the mammoth exercise, about 46,000 houses are to be set up at Belguria Bazar, 10 km from Jharia, in the first phase, and another 34,000 at Belliyapur in the second phase at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore.But while the Jharkhand government is keen on shifting the people to the new resettlement colonies, coal trade unions are opposing it. Janata Mazdoor Sangh general secretary Kunti Singh, also MLA from Jharia, said, "At no cost would we allow eviction of people from Jharia."

The package has been accepted by the Jharkhand government and it would cover all residents of Jharia. The fund for rehabilitation would be raised by Coal India and also through consumers who would have to pay enhanced royalty on coal (Rs 3.50 per tonne to Rs 10 per tonne). Says Bhattacharya, "The idea is to save the people. They are more important for Coal India than excavating prime coking coal from Jharia mines."
Courtesy:TOI