Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) supplying dry-fuel to the nation's power plants and other projects even during the pandemic has lost 47 of its personnel to COVID-19, an official said. Many others and their family members are battling for life, the Jharkhand arm of the Coal India Limited (CIL) said.
"Mining activities of Central Coalfields Ltd, a Jharkhand based subsidiary of Coal India, are going on round the clock but around 47 employees of CCL have lost their lives while serving the nation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," a CCL official said. This maharatna coal miner claims to have set up around
2,000 beds which include ICU, isolation and covid care beds with oxygen support. While oxygen supported beds are over 750 the ICU beds number nearly 70. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives in the county as well as world over for more than one year.
"Despite following the protocol of COVID-19 issued by the government from time to time, many executives as well as non-executives, have been affected from the COVID-19 infection. Altogether about 47 employees have lost their lives due to the deadly virus and many are undergoing treatment. It is not only the employees of CCL are affected but there are cases in which many family members too became affected and few of them died due to the COVID-19," the official said. CCL which has been allowed mining activities, has recorded a 112 per cent increase in production at 4.84 million tonne (MT) in April 2021 as against 2.28 MT coal output in April 2020.
The surge in infections has led to the re-imposition of severe lockdown in Jharkhand till the morning of May 27 which has imposed many restrictions to flatten the COVID-19 virus curve. The guidelines allow mining activities in Jharkhand so that raw coal is supplied to the power plants situated in Jharkhand and other parts of the country. CCL CMD PM Prasad said under the prevailing
circumstances he has asked officials to work closely with the state government and district administration to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. CCL has mining operations in Chatra, Latehar, Ramgarh, Hazaribag, Bokaro, Ranchi, Giridih and Palamu districts of Jharkhand. It has 62 operative mines including 40 opencast. It has a workforce of about 37,000.
