State-Owned Mahanadi Coalfields Suffers Loss Of Rs 2.68 Crore After Locals Create Ruckus Over Death Of A Goat

The state-owned Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has said that it has suffered a loss of Rs 2.68 crore due to the agitation over the death of a goat in the Talcher Coalfields area in Odisha.

Some people from the Chatia Hurtings village created a ruckus as they protested against the killing of the goat in the prohibited mining area. Jaganath Sidings 1 and 2 at Talcher Coalfields were forcibly stopped by the villagers on Monday (30 September) morning.

The agitating locals were demanding Rs 60,000 as compensation for the death of the goat. Work resumed only at 2.30 pm after the intervention of senior officials and the police.

Due to the three-and-a-half-hour-long stoppage, MCL suffered an estimated loss of Rs 1.4 crore on account of coal transportation to the sidings, and Rs 1.28 crore on account of despatch through railways, said the MCL statement.

The government exchequer also suffered an estimated loss of around Rs 46 lakh due to this unprecedented stoppage, the statement said. The company has lodged an FIR with the local police for necessary action against those who created the illegal obstruction.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)