SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Aug 30: A team of IIT Indian School of Mines (ISM) visited the Belagaria-based Jharia Vihar Township where the displaced families of the Jharia fire zone have been shifted and traced the issues being faced by them.
The students under the guidance of Prof Sanjiv Anand Sahu, Prof Madan Lal Chandravanshi and Prof Vivek Vajpayee divided into different groups and visited every nook and corner of the township to identify their problems and tried to solve them by interacting with the residents.
Jharia Vihar Township has been set up in the Belagaria area, around 8 km away from district headquarters, for shifting the families living in the Jharia fire zone. So far, 2,684 families have been shifted to the Township quarters especially meant for them. But most of the families who are still living in the dangerous fire zone in Jharia have refused to shift to the Township alleging a lack of basic facilities.
The visit by a team of IIT ISM students was organized by IIT ISM Centre for Social Mission (CMC) and Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA), the agency meant for shifting fire affected Jharia residents to a safe place, had felicitated the tour.
The team would submit the fact-finding report to IIT ISM management and Dhanbad district administration.
This was the first time when students of IIT ISM met the displaced families of the Jharia mines fire and took a first-hand report of their problem.
The visit of IIT ISM teachers and students to Jharia Vihar Township keeps significant as the institution (IIT ISM) has taken the responsibility of checking the 106-years-old mines fire in the coalfield. Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDIL) have given the proposal to IIT ISM for checking the fire in the Jharia coalfield.
