SHILLONG: Mine owners providing substandard equipments and miners using archaic methods, thanks to their owners, have resulted in several major accidents in mines in the State resulting in the death of many miners over the years.
In six out of seven cases of mine tragedies reported this year which has resulted in the death of as many as 16 miners, the cause of the accident was attributed to snapping of the cable of the lift which the coal labourers use to go down or come out of the mines.
Despite the large scale death of miners, the Government is still in a state of slumber as no mechanism has yet been conceived to address the issue.
Though the State Government notified the Mining Policy with euphoria a few years ago, it is presently in cold storage with the Government yet to announce its implementation.
Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, in the past, had stated that before implementation of the Mining Policy, some fine tuning is required through discussions with stakeholders.
Moreover, the Government is unable to pay compensation to the families of the victims as neither the mine workers nor the mines they work in are registered by their owners.
In June this year, Labour Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, following a meeting with miner owners at Khliehriat in East Jaintia Hills, had said that coal mine owners have failed to come forward to get their mines registered.
During the meeting, she had also asked the mine owners to register their mines
Unsolved problems
- Mining policy notified, not implemented
Substandard equipments in use in mines
No proper registration of mines
Mine owners fail to register workers
No compensation for loss of lives