Dhanbad: Under the banner of Katras Bachao Sangharsh Morcha, a one-day sit-in protest was held today against land subsidence and illegal coal mining at Randhir Verma Chowk, located at the Dhanbad district headquarters. People from land-subsidence-affected areas of Katras and its surroundings raised their voices regarding their problems and demands during the dharna.
Addressing the dharna, speakers said that continuous land subsidence in Katras and surrounding areas is affecting people's homes, land, roads, and daily lives. Despite this, BCCL has not yet taken the expected action toward a permanent solution to the problems of the affected areas. Speakers also demanded a halt to illegal excavation.
Morcha leaders stated that ensuring the safety of families affected by land subsidence is the responsibility of the administration and related departments. Demands were raised to conduct a scientific survey of the affected areas to identify dangerous locations, make proper arrangements for the rehabilitation and compensation of affected families, and take effective action against illegal excavation. After the dharna, a delegation submitted a memorandum addressed to the Governor through Dhanbad SDM Lokesh Barange. The memorandum included various demands such as a permanent solution to the land subsidence problem, safety and rehabilitation of affected people, stoppage of illegal coal mining, and fixing accountability of responsible departments. Speakers said that if the problems of the affected areas are not resolved soon, the agitation will be further intensified. They reiterated their commitment to continue the struggle for the rights and safety of the people of Katras.
Prominent attendees included Chunna Yadav, Prakash Ram Gupta, Pradeep Pandey, Suresh Kedia, Manoj Gupta, Vijay Tulsyan, Balbir Singh, Rajesh Swarnakar, Deepak Agarwal, Kaushar Khan, Pramod Agarwal, Anil Agarwal, Sonu Agarwal, Sachin Chaudhary, Pankaj Gupta, Mohit Goyal, Rajkumar Agarwal, Manoj Thakur, Suresh Sharma, Raees Ahmed, Bablu Rawani, Kishori Gupta, Raju Ram, Pradeep Gupta, Ratan Kumar Shukla, Rajesh Kumar, Manoj Kumar Gupta, Santosh Chaudhary, Arun Chaudhary, Umang Kumar, Arun Tulsyan, Abdul Samad Ansari, Vijay Radheshyam, Hariom Kumar, Nandlal Kumar, Ram Nath Rai, Sunil Kumar, along with hundreds of office-bearers of Katras Bachao Sangharsh Morcha, social workers, local citizens, shopkeepers, and people from land-subsidence-affected areas. On this occasion, members of the Bar Association and Dhanbad Intellectual Council extended their support to the Katras Morcha movement. Advocates Neetu Rani, Amit Bhagat, Y.K. Singh, Ajay Bhagat, Dinesh Kesri, Deepak Srivastava, Ranjeet Choubey, Sapan Sarkar, Raju Prasad Akhori, and dozens of other advocates also shared their views during the dharna.
