Basalt mining commences in Deocha Pachami

Kolkata: After Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the first day of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) on Wednesday announced that the Deocha-Pachami project, Asia’s second-largest coal mine, will commence with basalt mining, the work has already begun from Thursday.

Work on the Deocha Pachami Coal Mining project in Birbhum district started with basalt mining or primary cleaning of land. According to the experts, the Basalt mining is being carried out prior to coal extraction at Deocha Pachami. It is the second-largest coal block in the world.

The Chief Minister during her speech in BGBS said that the coal available here will ensure no electricity shortage in the state for the next 100 years. “This will create employment for hundreds of thousands of people. If any industrial company wishes to invest here, they should contact my chief secretary,” Banerjee had said.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, along with DGP Rajeev Kumar, visited the Birbhum project site last month to oversee preparations.

The Deucha-Pachami coal project has faced persistent challenges from tribal organisations opposing land acquisition. Allegations had emerged that promises of employment and other commitments to land donors were unfulfilled. On Wednesday, however, Banerjee said all these problems had been taken care of. The Chief Minister has, however, assured that land is ready and due compensation is being paid and everything was going very smoothly.