Jamuria (Asansol), April 10: The road cuts through large swathes of barren land and winds its way to Promila Primary Health Centre in Churulia, the birthplace of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and the resting place of his wife Promila.

Everyday, hundreds throng the road, some 28 kilometres from Asansol. They are drawn neither by poetry nor history but by the mounds of coal that sustain a populace and fuel the election machine of whoever is in power.

Years ago, the CPM had been accused of playing godfather to the coal pilfering chain. When Trinamul came to power, a crackdown was launched but it could not outgun the lure of the spoils that can go up to Rs 1 crore a day.

Now, a well-entrenched syndicate ensures hundreds of coal smugglers take this route to reach Barkola Ghat on the banks of the Ajoy river, around 9km ahead, to dump their collection.

The coal is stolen from mines and pits by the young and the old. Carriers then ferry it on cycles, motorbikes, bullock carts and trucks to dumping grounds from where it is reloaded on trucks and carted to Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia.

Demand from sponge-iron and ferro iron units and brick kilns dotting parts of Raniganj, Barabani, Jamuria, Andal and Pandaveswar keep the wheels turning.

"Every day, some 100 to 150 trucks leave this area carrying coal that is illegally smuggled. Anything between 8,000 and 10,000 people make a living out of this," says a man who introduces himself as Seikh Meherjan but adds that it is not his real name.

"Coal smuggling is a way of life here and everyone is aware of it. Neta, mantri, police shobai janey," he adds with a smile.

Jamuria has 29 small, medium and big collieries from where coal is illegally smuggled. Ahead of the elections, coal smuggling has been put on hold for a few days -just in case the Election Commission decided to turn up the heat.

The coal fuels Trinamul's election campaigns in Asansol's nine Assembly segments, according to CPM leaders.

Of the three Assembly seats where most of the coal syndicates operate, two - Jamuria and Pandaveswar - are held by the Left. Only Raniganj has a Trinamul MLA.

According to the CPM, Trinamul is determined to snatch Jamuria and Pandaveswar since they fall in the heart of the coal racket zone.

The Left has alleged that the money from pilfered coal runs into crores and is being used for the elections. "All of this is controlled by Trinamul leaders," said Bansagopal Chowdhury, a former CPM MP.

But Malay Ghatak, the labour minister who is contesting from the Asansol North seat, said: "There has been no illegal coal mining or pilfering in this area in the last five years. A few months back, it started in and around Barabani, but that was stopped."

Trinamul has fielded V. Sivadasan, the party's president in Asansol and Durgapur, in Jamuria. If Sivadasan wins the seat - the Left has never lost in Jamuria - the gates would be thrown open wider for wholesale smuggling of coal, CPM leaders claim.

But Trinamul insiders said the CPM too was a beneficiary of the coal theft. "Why is the Left not campaigning against the coal smuggling?" a Trinamul leader asked. "Because they also gained from it."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to the coal syndicate during his poll campaign in Asansol on April 7.

In a region dotted with closed industries, illegal coal mining has been a way of survival. "If you come early morning, you won't be able to travel towards Barkola Ghat. It remains so congested. If the police are not paid, the carts are seized and the coal taken away," Meherjan says, pointing to some of the carts lying in the Jamuria police outpost in Churulia.

The police deny the charge. A senior police officer said: "Three weeks ago, there were some complaints of illegal coal mining. Election observers visited the areas but did not find any illegal coal mining activity."