Barapukuria coal miners continue strike

Work remained suspended at the Barapukuria Coal Mining Co. Ltd (BCMCL) for the second consecutive day yesterday. Demanding regularisation of their jobs, the miners started an indefinite strike on Sunday noon when their deadline to the management ended.
The deputy general manager (marketing) of the mine, Khan Mohammad Zafor Sadiq, confirmed this to reporters at the mine gate. However, he claimed that the suspension of coal production would not affect power generation at the 250MW Barapukuria coal-fired power plant.
The mine currently has reserves of 1.70 lakh tonnes of coal. Besides, talks are in progress to solve the crisis, he said.
The 285 miners, who were 1,400 ft underground when the strike began, were yet to come out of the mine when last reports came in. They have vowed not to return to the surface until their demands were met, said Rabiul Islam, president  of the BCMCL Miners’ Union.
Two miners—Mosarraf Hossain, 35, and Sayedar Rahman, 32—fell ill underground and were being treated at the Phulbari upazila health complex, he said. Staging a rally in front of the mine’s gate, some other miners threatened to start a fast until they got a declaration of their job regularisation. The miners at the rally said some 1,040 miners work at the Barapukuria coalmine. They have been working for 20 years and keep running the wheel of coal production by risking their lives.

Barapukuria coal miners continue strike

Work remained suspended at the Barapukuria Coal Mining Co. Ltd (BCMCL) for the second consecutive day yesterday. Demanding regularisation of their jobs, the miners started an indefinite strike on Sunday noon when their deadline to the management ended. The deputy general manager (marketing) of the mine, Khan Mohammad Zafor Sadiq, confirmed this to reporters at the mine gate. However, he claimed that the suspension of coal production would not affect power generation at the 250MW Barapukuria coal-fired power plant. The mine currently has reserves of 1.70 lakh tonnes of coal. Besides, talks are in progress to solve the crisis, he said. The 285 miners, who were 1,400 ft underground when the strike began, were yet to come out of the mine when last reports came in. They have vowed not to return to the surface until their demands were met, said Rabiul Islam, president of the BCMCL Miners Union. Two minersMosarraf Hossain, 35, and Sayedar Rahman, 32fell ill underground and were being treated at the Phulbari upazila health complex, he said. Staging a rally in front of the mines gate, some other miners threatened to start a fast until they got a declaration of their job regularisation. The miners at the rally said some 1,040 miners work at the Barapukuria coalmine. They have been working for 20 years and keep running the wheel of coal production by risking their lives.