Hyderabad: In view of weather forecasts indicating the onset of the southwest monsoon within the next ten days, Singareni management has initiated special measures to ensure uninterrupted coal production during the rainy season. To maintain adequate coal supply to thermal power stations even during the monsoon, SCCL chairman & managing director Buddhaprakash Jyoti has asked officials to ensure uninterrupted coal production during monsoon.
Review Meeting and Key Directives
Speaking at a review meeting with SCCL officers on Saturday, he said at present, nearly 95% of Singareni’s coal production comes from open cast mines. During heavy rains, water accumulation in open cast mines often hampers production activities. To address this, SCCL has already installed more than 100 heavy-duty pumps and motors across all open cast mines to dewater the mines and continue production operations, he said.
However, as water inflow may increase significantly during intense rains, the CMD directed officials to arrange additional company and private pumps wherever necessary to prevent water stagnation near overburden and coal benches and to strengthen haul roads. He said that all necessary arrangements should be made in advance to ensure the availability of sufficient pumping equipment. For this purpose, the concerned general managers at the corporate office were instructed to initiate necessary action pertaining to the tenders.
Monsoon Preparedness Plans
Buddhaprakash Jyoti also reviewed mine-wise proposals and preparedness plans related to monsoon management. He instructed officials to continuously monitor weather advisories issued by the meteorological department. He spoke to the concerned area GMs of opencast mines that had suffered major production losses due to rains over the past two years and advised them to remain extra vigilant this year.
“In view of the increased power demand arising from international developments, all area managements should take adequate measures to ensure uninterrupted coal supply to thermal power plants having Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) with Singareni,” the CMD said. He also enquired about coal production, coal transportation, and overburden removal achieved by each area so far during the current financial year. He said that maximum possible coal production should be achieved before the onset of the monsoon, as higher production during the first quarter would significantly help offset the impact of rains on production during the monsoon season.
Meeting Attendees
The meeting was attended by director (operations) L.V. Suryanarayana, director (projects & planning) K. Venkateswarlu, director (personnel & finance) Gowtham Potru, director (E&M) M. Tirumala Rao, ED (coal movement) B. Venkanna, GM (coordination & marketing) T. Srinivas, and others.
