People looking at illegal coal mine. (file photo)
Jagran correspondent, Gulfarbari (Dhanbad). Illegal coal mining in Dhanbad district is once again in the headlines. Dozens of illegal coal mines are being operated in the forests near Sanyasi Temple under Gulfarbari OP area. The situation is such that it is believed that the local police has completely turned a blind eye to coal theft. On Monday evening, a joint team of ECL Mugma area security personnel and CISF raided these illegal mines. About 200 tonnes of illegal coal was seized during the operation. As soon as they got wind of the raid, the mine operator and the coal thief fled from the spot. After this, the lifting work of the seized coal was started, which continued till late evening on Tuesday. Such a large quantity of seized coal is an indication that illegal mining was going on here on a large scale for a long time and the coal was being consumed in the kilns of other areas including Dudhiapani. Local people say that the involvement of Gulfarbari OP police in this whole game cannot be denied. ECL Mugma Area Security Officer Shravan Jha, who was present at the spot, said that due to the large quantity of coal, it took more time than expected to lift it. For this reason filling of illegal mines could not be done on Tuesday.
He said that the filling work of all the identified illegal excavation sites will be started from Wednesday. This incident has once again raised serious questions on illegal coal mining and administrative negligence in Dhanbad.