Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 7, 2015

Normalcy in coal production in Talcher coal fields returned on Thursday  after the villagers Bhalugadia in Angul district called off the strike following Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL)’s assurance to provide jobs to 62 land losers’ families within one month.

The villagers also agreed to provide immediate possession of land to MCL, which is targeting mammoth 150 million tons coal production during current financial year, a MCL release said on Thursday.

The strike called by the villagers since Wednesday had paralysed all the projects and area offices of MCL impacting over two lakh tons of daily coal production and supply, a press release on Wednesday had said.

The protesters withdrew the agitation after the MCL agreed to fulfill their demands at a meeting convened by Angul district collector Sachin Ramachandra Jadhav, which was attended by district police chef Rajesh Pandit, MCL chairman-cum- managing Director A N Sahay and other senior officers from the state government and MCL.