Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, witnessed a comprehensive operational review during the visit of Chairman Coal India, Shri B. Sairam. The Chairman inspected key mining areas including Sonepur Bazari, Kenda, Kunustoria, Bankola and Jhanjra, focusing on production performance, coal quality, safety standards and technology adoption.
At the Sonepur Bazari Area, Shri Sairam reviewed ongoing mining operations and held detailed discussions with the Area General Manager and his team on operational efficiency, workforce engagement and ground-level challenges. He also felicitated outstanding employees and interacted with contractual workers. Sonepur Bazari remains a strategic asset for ECL, having produced 6.9 million tonnes of coal so far in the current financial year. The entire coal requirement for Coal Gas India Limited’s upcoming Coal-to-Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) project will be sourced from this mine.
The Chairman further inspected operations at the New Kenda opencast mine in Kenda Area, the North Searsole highwall mining operations at Narayankuri opencast mine in Kunustoria Area, and the Nakrakonda Kumardihi-B opencast mine in Bankola Area. These inspections emphasized productivity, quality coal supply, safety compliance and the integration of advanced mining technologies.
The visit concluded at the Jhanjra underground mine, the highest coal-producing underground mine of Coal India. This highly mechanized mine has recorded a production of 2.17 million tonnes in the ongoing financial year. Shri Sairam also chaired a review meeting with all Area General Managers of ECL through video conferencing from Jhanjra and interacted with members of the Corporate Joint Consultative Committee.
Shri Satish Jha, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, ECL, along with senior officials from ECL and Coal India, accompanied the Chairman during the visit.