Coal Workers Threaten Agitation

B Prasant

THE CITU-affiliated Colliery Mazdoor Sabha of India (CMSI) has written a letter to prime minister Manmohan Singh protesting against the coal minister’s plans to move the headquarters of the Coal India Limited (CIL) and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) from Kolkata to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state.

In the letter, the CMSI general secretary, Laxman Bagdi has called for the prime minister’s intervention in the matter and has also threatened to launch a big movement, including a strike against this unjust move. The letter mentions that the move has anguished the people of Bengal as such and has described the coal minister’s declaration as ‘surprising and unfortunate.’

Meeting in Kolkata, the central committee of the CMSI has decided that every form of protest and resistance would be registered against the coal minister’s move.

Elsewhere, the coal minister himself has iterated the ‘justification’ of such a move citing the ‘rich resources of coal and steel in the state of Jharkhand.’

Meanwhile, all-India president of the CITU, Dr M K Pandhe has described the coal minister’s move as unreasonable and said that it was to the advantage of the two concerns to be headquartered in Kolkata and enjoy the infrastructure here. 

Dr Pandhe added to say that it devolved on the union government and not on the wish of a particular minister to make such a move.  As yet, no word has been forthcoming in this matter from the union government itself.