Building roads, laying power lines- Routine affair in sidelines

ROAD   CONSTRUCTION  &  ELECTRIFICATION – are considered  two most  important developmental  activities.

They are important because- first, they are really important. Second- they are considered important.  In economy, just like in life, it is always good to see important things being considered important as well.  It is considered important because it shows up. Unlike coal mining, it shows up.  A new road being constructed- Voila! The entire city  knows.  New power lines being laid- Great! Everyone knows.

|| In economy, just like in life, it is always good to see important things being considered important as well.  Ideally, the two should overlap.  But sadly, sometimes, being important and being considered important become two different things.||

Understandably enough, both these activities  require considerable time.  Takes lot of efforts.  But once completed, the infrastructure stay for quite a time.  Peace.

BUT  NOT IN  MINING- COAL MINING.

Pre-mining,  mid-mining  or post-mining—- road construction and electrification are not  one-off activities for miners.  Miners undertake these two activities  to approach their work site, load and haul.  It is an ongoing process in mining. The structures are built, dismantled and rebuilt as the patches of land turn from coaled to de-coaled.

As an opencast miner,  the task of NCL is particularly important in the backdrop of enormous volume of material being handled on-site.  To substantiate, here’s a fact check — NCL is the largest volume handling company of Coal India Limited. It produced 93.018 mt of coal and removed 316.79 mm3 of overburden in 2017-18.

So next time when you commute to office from home, get stuck in traffic jam everyday, for months because a road is being repaired en-route. You make peace thinking– after all, it’s a one-off activity—please know.

Know that somewhere in the hinterland, a miner is doing it day-in and day-out. And more importantly, also know that all those electrically-powered  equipment  &  machines  deployed at that construction site en-route traces its operations back to our work site– the coalfields.

[While the road part is texted wide here, I will let a picture do all the talking for electrification part. Pictured here is one of our Lineman Chotelal Rawjar working in Amlohri OCP of NCL.]

(Views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, group or individual.)

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12 Thoughts to “Building roads, laying power lines- Routine affair in sidelines”

  1. Debasmita

    I was waiting for this. Now my work starts honestly this post in very different flavor Purvi. It makes me want to see a coalfield. I don’t have words but honestly I was never as thankful to a miner as I am today. Literally coal is very very important

  2. Purvi Srivastava

    Relieved I am, a bit 🙂 Thanks.

  3. Veena

    I am touched to the core. This is not just about coal. It is about life. Your words leave me spellbound.

  4. Purvi Srivastava

    Dear Veena, thanks a lot. How are you? And yes, that’s what I aim by and large. To talk about everything as a subset of life- and they really are.

  5. Veena

    I am good. Off to Chandigarh these days. please keep posting and keep texting. I will keep coming back on your morethancoal..haahaa..

  6. Purvi Srivastava

    Do come. I wait for you 😉

  7. Singer

    Railways also build it.

  8. Anthony

    Coal is the soul of Indian economy

  9. Roma

    Tell me Purvi, you write about coal or you write about divinity? The other day we talked, I already knew your plan is great. But your modest ways never suggest what next you are going to do. Browse any journal, newspaper, internet or anything under the sun, yours are the best words one finds on coal.

  10. Shubham Shriwas

    Next time when I will see road construction or electrification I will remember coal mining.

  11. Nivedita

    I admire coal and miners. You have me

  12. Purvi Srivastava

    @Roma Ma’am,
    Saw this today, Ma’am. Thanks a lot for such heartfelt remarks.

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