Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Shri Satish Chandra Dubey yesterday laid the foundation stone of Karo Coal Handling Plant and Konar Coal Handling Plant in Bokaro and Kargali area of CCL. The capacity of these two projects is 7 million tonnes per annum and 5 million tonnes per annum respectively. Member of Parliament, Giridih, Shri Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, MLA, Bermo, Shri Kumar Jayamangal (Anoop Singh), Chairman of Coal India Limited, Shri PM Prasad, CMD, CCL Shri Nilendu Kumar Singh, senior officers of CCL, representatives of workers' union and other stakeholders were present on the occasion. Minister Shri Dubey also planted saplings during the foundation stone laying ceremony of Konar Project under the campaign " Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam".

Karo and Konar coal handling plants will prove to be an important step in the direction of First Mile Rail Connectivity, under which arrangements will be made to take the coal produced from the coal mines to the nearest railway circuit, from where it will be transported to thermal power plants and other consumers across the country. Currently, coal from these mines is brought to the railway siding by road.

Konar Coal Handling Plant: The plant includes a hopper, crusher, coal storage bunker of 10000 tonne capacity and 1.6 km long conveyor belt, with the help of which coal will be transferred to railway wagons through Silo bunker of 1000 tonne storage capacity. The cost of the project of 5 million tonnes per annum capacity is ₹ 322 crore. With the commencement of this project, the current rake loading time will be reduced from 5 hours to 1 hour, which will speed up coal dispatch and increase the availability of rakes.

Karo Coal Handling Plant: The plant includes a hopper, crusher, coal storage bunker of 15000 tonne capacity and 1 km long conveyor belt, with the help of which coal will be transferred to railway wagons through silo bunker of 4000 tonne storage capacity. The cost of this project of 7 million tonnes per annum capacity is ₹ 410 crores. With the start of this project, the current rake loading time will be reduced from 5 hours to 1 hour which will speed up the dispatch of coal.

These closed-loop, fully mechanized systems will bring speed and efficiency in the dispatch of coal by eliminating transportation by road and thus reduce diesel consumption. It will also help in reducing dust and vehicle-borne pollution in the area.

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ST