Illegal coal mining may damage Ranchi NH
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22/06/2008
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Times Of India (New Delhi)
Jaideep Deogharia | TNN Hazaribag: Danger looms on NH-33 off Ranchi: The road can cave in anytime as several tunnels have been dug beneath the highway near Hesagarha on Mandu Ghati in Hazaribag by illegal coal miners. With thousands of vehicles crossing these points, the road has developed cracks. Apparently, the tunnels have their origin in an open quarry of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) that was abandoned a few years ago. Illegal miners or coal thieves have been digging these up for years with the result that many of these underground passes pose a significant threat to blacktop road. One of the miners, Jairam Singh, told TOI that a few hundred families depend on this abandoned quarry and have found a rich seam of coal beneath the highway.