Daily wage earners, who used to load coal produced by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) on to trucks, have been rendered jobless after the company cut down production by 50 per cent following the drop in demand after lockdown.
At present, the company is transporting coal only by rail.
Over 5,000 labourers work at different coal loading sites of BCCL in Dhanbad.
Fifty-year-old Bhagatdih resident Arun Mandal, who used to work as a coal loader at BCCL’s Rajapur colliery area, said: “I had raised all my four children with my income as a coal loader. I have never faced such hardships. After the lockdown, we are somehow making do with the khichdi distributed in our locality.”
