Land caves inside house in Odisha's coal town, residents staged protest

Angry residents of Talcher in Odisha's Angul district Thursday observed a shutdown alleging land subsidence in the coal town. The agitating people staged a demonstration, road blockade and observed a day-long bandh after a portion of land suddenly caved in inside a house on Wednesday, police said.

People from nearby areas rushed to the site as the news spread following which the band was called. The protesters took to the streets and demanded the immediate intervention of the district administration to look into the issue. While shops and business establishments remained closed, vehicular movement was disrupted in and around the town.

Movement of trucks and buses on the highway was also affected, police said. The bandh was peaceful even as police personnel were deployed in sensitive places, a police official said. The locals alleged that land subsidence has been taking place in and around the town because of faulty management of underground coal mines and improper sand filling carried out in defunct mines.

However, a spokesman of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) said the incident took place because of faulty building construction and had nothing to do with coal mines.

(With inputs from agencies.)