Telangana workers' union to hold protests against privatisation of coal mines
Jun 25, 2020
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 25 : The Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) on Wednesday said that the union will stage protests at all mines of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in the state on June 26, in opposition to the privatisation of coal mines.
The workers will also observe a 24-hour strike on July 2.
In a statement, former MP and former TBGKS honorary president Kalvakuntla Kavitha found fault with the Centre's decision to privatise the coal mines, which was against the interests of the public undertakings.
She said, "The effigies of the central government will be burnt at all Singareni mines on June 26 during the protests."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining and reiterated his call for India to become self-reliant in energy by reducing imports.
Despite having the world's fourth-largest coal reserves and being the second-largest producer, India is the second-largest importer of coal.
"India will turn this COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity. The country will reduce its dependence on imports. To make India self-reliant in the energy sector, a major step is being taken today," the Prime Minister had said on June 18 while speaking at the launch of auctioning 41 coal mines for commercial mining.
The rollout of commercial coal mining is part of the series of announcements made by the Centre under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It is expected to boost private sector participation which will, in turn, lead to higher production and enhance competition.
