12-Hour Bandh After Land Subsides In Talcher Again

Talcher: Irate locals of Talcher in Odisha’s Angul district on Thursday resorted to 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh call after a portion of land caved in inside two houses near Town police station on Wednesday night.

According to sources, a portion of land measuring about 5 feet in length and 6 feet in width suddenly cave in inside the house of one Shanti Bai and later stretched to her neighbour’s house. At this, the panicked members ran out of the house and shouted for help.

People from nearby areas rushed to the spot as the news spread in the town.

As tension ran high in the area, the Town Police took stock of the situation and managed to pacify the people.

The incident took place at around 8 pm.

The locals alleged that such incidents have taken place in Talcher and its outskirts areas due to the faulty management of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) authorities.

“As per rules, the MCL authorities after exploring underground coal should fill in the vacant place with sand. But they are not doing this. As a result, the upper portion of the land under which the coal has been explored has caved in due to upward pressure,” said a local.

A similar incident had taken place on March 17, 1981, when a portion of an agriculture land near the Naba Mishra Colony in the town had caved in. Later, on November 10 the same year, a portion of the land of about half-acre in width had caved in by about 30 feet near the rail track in Hatatota area of the town.

Apart from this, such incidents have also occurred near the bus stand area, Shirdi Sai temple in the town, Teli Sahi in Deulabeda village and the agriculture land in Handidhua village on the outskirts of the town.

It may be mentioned that the MCL had taken up the underground coal exploration in Deulabeda village area under the jurisdiction of Talcher Municipality (formerly Notified Area Council) in 1928.