IAS Trainees Witness Jharia Mine Transformation

A group of trainee IAS officers from LBSNAA Mussoorie visited Jharia's mine fire areas in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, as part of a 'Winter Study Tour.' The visit included insights into coal mining operations and evaluation of rehabilitation efforts for families displaced by mine fires, guided by local officials.

A team of ten trainee IAS officers from the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie explored the mine fire regions of Jharia in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, according to officials on Saturday.

The visit, which took place on Friday, gave the officers a firsthand look at both opencast and underground coal mining under the operations of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL). This was part of their intensive 'Winter Study Tour,' as per a Dhanbad administration press release.

During their visit, the officers assessed the rehabilitation facilities in Belagadia Township, where some 3,000 families displaced by the Jharia mine fires have been accommodated. Official sources indicate that there remains a need to relocate approximately 1.4 lakh families from high-risk zones. The officers also met with Dhanbad deputy commissioner Aditya Ranjan and toured alongside Dhanbad Divisional Forest Officer Vikash Paliwal.

(With inputs from agencies.)