SHILLONG / NONGKHLIEH: After being in denial mode all this time, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday admitted that illegal coal mining is continuing in the state.
The admission comes a day after 13 miners were trapped in a mine after it flooded in Nongkhlieh of East Jaintia Hills District on Thursday. Efforts by the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force and other agencies to rescue the miners on Friday proved futile.
In a press statement, Sangma said that the government will take appropriate legal action against the people who are indulging in illegal mining in the state at an appropriate time as the first requirement is to save the miners. “We all are aware that illegal activities were going on there and it is not correct,” he said while asserting that illegal coal mining is unacceptable to the state government. Earlier though, he had said there was no illegal mining in the state since the ban.
District police officials said the miners were trapped after they accidentally cut through an adjoining abandoned mine filled with water and flooding the one they were working in.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, a victim’s relative, who came from Nongjri, East Khasi Hills, informed that his brother, Ashbahadur Limbu of Karbi Anglong in Assam was also inside the mine.
“We just came here on Wednesday evening and the next morning he went inside and never came out”, said Krishna Bahadur Limbu who has also come to work in the mine.
The DIG, Eastern Range, AR Mawthoh, also visited the site on Friday.
Speaking to media persons, Mawthoh and EJH SP Sylvester Nongtynger said NDRF and SDRF were facing difficulties in carrying out search and rescue operation in such a deep mining shaft filled with water.
When asked how certain he was that thirteen persons were trapped inside, the DIG said, “We are not sure at all, there may be more or may be less”.
The SP also informed that the list of the 13 persons shared with the media was given to the police by some locals. “Until we retrieve their bodies, we cannot jump to any conclusion”, the SP added.
The location of the mine is near Briwar which is far from Lumthari village. Locals said the mining site does not fall under their jurisdiction but under Elaka Nongkhlieh.
The police has also identified the mine’s owner as James Sukhlain of Lumthari village. The mine’s owner and its supervisor were absconding and efforts were on to apprehend them.
A case under section 188 IPC for violation of the NGT order banning coal mining, Section 304A/34 IPC (causing death to many by negligence read with Section 3(2)(d) of the PDPP Act and Section 21(1) MM (R&D) Act has been registered.
