Joshi denies shortage of coal stocks, hits out at Rahul for spreading rumours

Hubballi: Denying shortage of coal in the country, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Mines Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said, "We have a total of 93 million tons of coal in our mines as well as in the coal companies and trains have been marshalled to transport it to the thermal power plants in the country."

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Hubballi, Joshi scotched the rumours allegedly floated by the Congress that the country was facing a shortage of coal and many States will not have power in the coming days. "These are the mischievous but very grave kind of canards that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his social media managers are floating.

Our situation in coal holding capacity has never been better as we have 21.55 million tons of coal at the mining sites and 72.5 million tons in the stockyards of the coal companies.

Yes, we have to speed up the transportation of coal to the user sites by railways as the demand is soaring due to the hot summer," Joshi observed. Quoting ministry statistics, Joshi said the coal companies are supplying 1.7 million tons per day to various thermal power plants and other users all over the country. This is an indication of an improving economic situation in the country.

Training his guns on Rahul Gandhi, the Union minister said, "The Congress leader is taking pot-shots at the government with his half-baked theories. He is misleading the country with his ill-gotten information."