Ranchi, Mar 8 (IANS); The Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), the largest coal producer of Jharkhand, is trying to curb coal pilferage and theft through deployment of latest technology in its mines.

"CCL, with its command areas spread across eight districts of Jharkhand, will keep a close eye on coal transportation through the newly installed monitoring system consisting of the CCTV-based weigh bridge, GPS/GPRS-based vehicle tracking system (VTS), RFID (radio-frequency identification) and more," Deepak Kumar, Head, Public Relations, CCL, told IANS.

He said, "The commissioning of modern technology has not only helped in closely monitoring the transportation of coal but also in keeping a tab on coal production, dispatch and productivity. Reports generated from these systems have helped the management to rectify the shortfalls, bring continuous improvement and ensure greater efficiency."

"The GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the global positioning system to determine the precise location of a vehicle and to record the position of the asset at regular interval. As of now, 2150 GPS/GPRS devices are installed across CCL command areas" said Deepak Kumar.

He said: "All the operations are centrally monitored in three shifts at CCL headquarters. Exceptional alerts or reports are analysed, and action is taken accordingly."

"Two mechanisms have been developed for tracking the movement of departmental trucks and dumpers engaged in transportation of coal on real time basis and RFID with CCTV systems at 112 road weighbridges," he added.

Sources in the CCL said every year hundreds of tonnes of coal are lost due to pilferage leading to revenue loss for the company.