No stepping back on safety over expenses: SCCL CMD Sridhar

Hyderabad: Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) Chairman and Managing Director N Sridhar made it clear that Singareni gives utmost importance to safety measures and there is no going back on the expenses for the safety of workers.

Speaking on 46th Tripartite Safety Conference at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday, he gave a few assurances at the conference in which SCCL management representatives, director general of mines safety, recognised representative workers unions and representatives of the officers' union participated. Responding to the unions' suggestions to fill vacancies of technical staff, supervisors etc in several mines, Sridhar explained that during the last five years, more than 16,000 vacancies were filled through direct recruitment, compensatory recruitment and internal postings and recruitment would be taken up to fill up all the remaining vacancies in the next six months. As per the instructions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, quota of internal employees would be increased, he added.

The CMD said the suggestions of workers unions and DGMS officials would be implemented and another meeting would be held with the Directors and senior officers to finalise the road map. Two simulators as part of heavy vehicle operators training and other required training equipment have been arranged. He informed that as part of Covid-19 prevention measures, tests were conducted with about 60,000 rapid test kits and due to the preventive measures, Singarenians came out of this situation with minimum trouble.

He praised the special efforts of Company Directors S Chandrashekar, N Balaram and the medical staff in taking Covid preventive measures. He suggested that there is going to be a huge competition from private companies and foreign coal and collective effort and efficiency needs to be improved along with reduction in production cost.

Deputy Director General Mines Safety Malam Tekedar, Company Directors S Chandrashekar, N Balaram, Satyanarayana and recognised union president B Venkat Rao, General Secretary Raja Reddy, AITUC General Secretary Seetaramaiah, CMOAI (Coal Mines Officers Association) General Secretary NV Rajashekar and other officers participated in the meeting.