Coal production resumed at Barapukuria coalmine Saturday midnight without digging the boreholes as Bangladeshi miners agreed to join work.

Official sources said at least 550 metric tons of coal has been extracted as a test case from 1114 coalface after miners joined work following a meeting with the authorities of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL).

Coal production was suspended after villagers affected by landslide at and around the mining site resisted drilling of boreholes for production of coal from “1114 Face” on February 25 over compensation issue.

The crisis deepened further when Bangladeshi miners Friday night called work abstention for an indefinite period protesting their retrenchment.

CMC-XMC, the contractor company of Barapukuria, retrenched 800 Bangladeshi miners on Thursday without prior notice, sparking protest from them.

The CMC-XMC also put a deadline to resume coal production from March 5 otherwise it threatened to stop its activities in Bangladesh .

Following the threat, Forest and Environment State Minister Mostafizur Rahman Fizar visited the coalmine area and held several meetings with the villagers and the miners. He assured the villagers of giving them compensation to overcome the crisis.

The CMC-XMC later agreed on reinstating the miners.

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