DHANBAD: The raging underground fire in the Jharia coal mines here has put lives of thousands of families living in the surrounding areas at risk, prompting the BCCL to construct a new colony to relocate them.
However, the non-BCCL employee residents of the belt refused to shift to the new colony offered by the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), citing lesser space than their present homes.
The residents complained of itching in their eyes and headache during emission of smoke from the mine fire.
“My family also has received eviction notice from the authorities of Jharia,” claimed one resident.
Her neighbours at Ghanudih also received notices after the public sector declared it as falling in ‘danger zone’.
The BCCL has already offered alternative houses to her and others in the neighbourhood at Jharia Vehar Colony at Benagaria, about 20 km from their colony, she admits.
The resident alleged her house had been damaged in January this year during a controlled blast to check the underground fire from spreading further.
“But the houses being offered are not spacious enough to accommodate the entire families,” she said.
Altogether 26,000 out of 98,000 families, nestled in the “danger zone” of Jharia, are employed with the BCCL and the public sector claimed that almost all of its employees had been shifted to different locations.
The rest of the 72,000 non-BCCL employee families are yet to move out.
