Asansol, August 21: Thousands of villagers have been affected after smoke started blowing out of an underground fire in an illegal coal mine in Sangramgarh colliery in Burdwan district.
The fire, which raged last evening in an open caste mine, has caused inconvenience to around 1500 families living in Samdehi area as they are unable to go out of their houses because of dense smoke surrounding the area.
“We are trying to control the fire by putting sand and earth,” District Magistrate Rajesh Sinha said.
Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) MD Smarjit Chakraborty said that a safety team has been dispatched at the spot to control the fire.
Blaming unscientific mining as the cause of fire, locals allege that ECL’s irresponsible behaviour has led to the incident.
—Agencies