Coal staff call off strike and return to work after 35 days

Hyderabad: The agitation for a separate Telangana state has suffered a setback with nearly 70,000 workers of Singareni Collieries returning to work yesterday, ending the 35 days long strike in the coal mines across four districts of the region.

Coal production, which had come to a halt creating a major power crisis in the state, resumed in fully capacity.

Several unions of the coal miners decided to end the strike after the management offered each worker a festival advance of Rs25,000 (Dh1,853) for Diwali as well as adjusting the strike period against the accumulated leave of the employees.

The government also agreed to withdraw the cases registered against the employees during the strike period.