BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA | 16 NOVEMBER 2025
Top officials of the union ministry of tourism in Kolkata along with the ministry of coal have identified Sindoor Eco Park and Jhanjra Coal Field area of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in West Burdwan District to develop as the first site of coal mine tourism destination in the state of West Bengal.
“ On Friday a joint inspection team pertaining the officials from Eastern Regional Office in Kolkata of the union Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Coal headquarters and Eastern Coalfield Limited in Asansol visited the Coal Mines Area at Sindoor Eco Park and Jhanjra Coal Field Area in West Bengal for identifying the development of tourism destination sites under the Mines Tourism in India,” according to Mr. Pranav Prakash, Regional Director of India Tourism in Kolkata.
“During this first field visit, the joint official team had inspected the Jhanjra Coal and Mines Area and its surrounding tourist spots to study the development of these sites into prime tourism spots under the concept of Mines Tourism in India,” added Mr. Niladri Roy, Director ( Technical) of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited.
After completion of this field visit, a VC meeting was also attended by the inspection team under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary of Ministry of Coal, New Delhi of India to discuss and review the development of the Coal Mine Tourism project.
This initiative is being taken under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost Coal Mines Tourism India. Both the Union coal minister , G. Kisan Reddy and union tourism minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, have shown keen interest to develop coal mines tourism in India .
In countries like Germany, United Kingdom and Australia, a few closed coal mines have been repurposed into tourist spots, cultural centres, reservoirs or for industrial purposes etc. The union coal ministry has come forward to develop closed coal mines as tourism hotspots in the country, officials said.
The Jhanjra coal mines of ECL are a large, underground, and mechanized coal mining project in the Raniganj Coalfield of West Burdwan district in the state of West Bengal , operated by Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL).
It is also one of the largest underground coal-producing mines in India, employing advanced coal mining technologies like longwall mining and continuous miners to extract coal from underneath . The Jhanjra Coal project of ECL also includes an eco-park for sustainability and recreation.
ECL’s Jhanjra Sindoor Eco Park, which is under the union Ministry of Coal, provides a perfect blend of sustainability and recreation. Featuring lush fruit trees, an open gym, rainwater harvesting pond and a children’s park, it’s a community treasure for all to enjoy. Situated near Jhanjra stadium Spread over an area of 4.2 hectares, with a massive rainwater harvesting pond, swans and rabbits, it has an open gym with modern fitness equipment, nature walk between the lush green foliage of trees, plantation of thousands of fruit bearing large trees .
The place is also well connected by both rail, air and road as the KNI Airport in Andal is nearby and the NH-19 connecting New Delhi with Kolkata and the grand chord line of Eastern Railway.
It may be noted that the adjacent state of Jharkhand has already undertaken initiatives for coal mine tourism this year and Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) has signed a MoU with Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) for a five year period for the country’s first ever coal mine tourism. JTDC will arrange a group tour of 20 tourists daily at the North Urimari Open Cast Mines in Ramgarh district, which is popular for its scenic beauty already.
Incidentally, the Raniganj Coalfields has a significant historical importance in India of being the country’s oldest coal bearing area and in the year 1774, Sumner and Heatly found coal near Ethora, a place in the present-day Salanpur area of the Raniganj Coalfield in West Bengal.
However, on 11 August 1774, a commercial proposal to Governor-General Warren Hastings for the commercial extraction of coal from Raniganj Coalfields in India was submitted .
Advertisement:
Add Comment