Talcher, July 23: G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Coal & Mines, virtually inaugurated Mahanadi Coalfields Limited’s (MCL) Coal-Neer Plant, a packaged drinking water plant at Handidhua Underground Mine in Talacher.

Satish Chandra Dubey, Minister of State for Coal & Mines; Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; Vikram Dev Dutt, Secretary, Ministry of Coal; Rupinder Brar, Additional Secretary, MoC; B. Sairam, Chairman, Coal India Limited and Uday A. Kaole, CMD, MCL were also present in New Delhi during the inauguration ceremony held on Wednesday.

Under the Ministry of Coal ‘Mission GREEN’, MCL has transformed the Handidhua Underground Mine into a sustainable community asset by establishing the Coal-Neer Plant.

The mine which remained closed since 1998 will now be utilised for converting mine water into safe and affordable packaged drinking water for the communities. The sourced mine water will be purified retaining the natural healthy minerals using CDI (Capacitive Deionization) technology, developed by IIT Madras.

The 100 KLD Handidhua Coal-Neer Plant will cater to the drinking water needs of around 8,975 people and facilitate livelihood opportunities for women associated with 41 Self Help Groups. Besides this, the initiative will support the distribution of packaged drinking water across the Talacher Block through the SHGs, creating opportunities for livelihood generation and community participation.

On this occasion, the dignitaries also felicitated the dedicated team members for their efforts and contribution towards making the Coal-Neer initiative a reality.