Editor,
As per reports of the Shillong Times of December 14, the NPP led State Government’s denial of illegal coal mining was blown to smithereens on Thursday (13 December 2018) as 13 miners were feared dead in a rat-hole mine at Ksan near the Lyteiñ river under Saipung police station in East Jaintia Hills. According to information received, 13 people were trapped inside the illegal coal mine at Ksan. The National Green Tribunal has banned unscientific and unsafe rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya since April, 2014. According to the police sources, it appeared to be an old coal mine and the labourers were engaged in the rat-hole coal mining three days before the tragedy which happened to sudden flooding of the mine at 5.30 am on Thursday, December 13.
The NPP-led MDA government all this while has been denying any illegal coal mining taking place in the state. Coal Mining, or for that matter any underground mining is an extremely hazardous industrial operation and profession, entirely different from any other industry, where compliance with the Acts, regulations and rules framed and imposed by the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS) & other authorities are to be religiously adhered to and complied with for ensuring safety and security of men and machine engaged. Continued “rat-hole/ illegal mining of coal” in the name of “traditional mining” in the state of Meghalaya is just to delude the Regulatory & Statutory Government authorities. It is neither “Scientific Mining” nor a “Safe Mining” practice.
The problem with the state of Meghalaya is that “rat-hole mining” in the name of traditional mining is still rampant in the coal-bearing areas of the entire state despite the ban imposed by the NGT. This happens with direct/indirect support/ of the administration, government officials and political leaders, irrespective of their political affiliations and all for vested interests.
Advocates of “traditional mining” in the state defy and deny statutory requirements of compliance with the Central Acts, Rules & Regulations framed by the Director General of Mines Safety on the basis of over 200 years’ experience of coal and metal mining operations in the country. Major Coalfields of Meghalaya being in proximity to and stretched along the international Indo-Bangladesh border crony politicians in nexus with a section of businessmen are earning astronomical sums of easy money in terms of dollars. Reportedly majority of politicians of the state are also owners of more than dozens of illegal coal mines.
The water inside the mine in all probability gushed in from the nearby Lytein river. Search and rescue operations launched since the day of the accident on December 13 proved futile because of lack of experience of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to deal with such emergencies. This coupled with poor planning and because of engagement of low discharge capacity pumps for de-watering over the past 13 days the water level in the mine at Ksan has not yet receded. It is most unfortunate that the district administration has also suspended the on-going rescue operations from Monday (24th December).
Associated with mining industry (coal & metal) for the last 55 years and having experience of Chasnala & Buradhemo inundation rescue & recovery operations as an active rescue worker it is suggested that the immediate requirement is to procure, on war-footing basis, DSM series of high discharge pumps (manufactured by Kirloskar Brothers of Pune) of at least 5 numbers of 10,000 gpm capacity by air-lifting for installation and operation at mine site without further loss of time. De-watering operation should have been continued till the arrival and installation of such large discharge capacity pumps at site. At the same time the expertise and assistance offered by Kirloskar Brothers may be availed of and fully utilised by the government of Meghalaya.
Unless the ruling dispensation takes the initiative with serious political will and zeal for resumption of scientific and environment-friendly coal mining in the state, rat-hole mining would go on in the name of traditional mining at the cost of human lives since in the event of fatal accidents neither the owner of the illegal mine nor the government is accountable to the DGMS and other statutory authorities.
However it would be worthwhile for the state government to set up Mine Rescue Stations in the heart of the coal-belt in consultation with the Union Ministry of Coal and in collaboration with the DGMS to effectively and efficiently deal with similar situations in future and to rescue and save human lives.
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Advocate, Kolkata High Court & Former Chief Mining Consultant
Humanity is dead
Editor,
Your editorial, “No value for human life in Meghalaya” (ST, December 27, 2018) is right in pointing out – “The miners trapped in the mines at Ksan in the Lumthari area of East Jaintia Hills District on December 13 last when the mine suddenly flooded, are virtually left to their fates. There is no public outcry against this inhuman treatment of over 15 lives left to die in agony for want of rapid assistance.”
The horrifying fact of, “No public outcry” has also been highlighted in the letter, “Where is our humanity?” (ST, Dec 27), in which Kynsai R Nonglait said, “A video showing people of Jowai dancing on the streets on Christmas Eve has gone viral. When not far away from Jowai, there is death and destruction of over 15 human lives who are trapped inside a flooded mine, how can people be so insensitive as to shut their conscience just because the tragedy has not visited their own families?”
No public outcry is also a phenomenon when a safai karmachari (scavenger) dies every third day in a gutter on an average in our country. Indeed, we seldom, if ever, talk about it. It is highly unfortunate that we do not value the lives of the common people. Our attitude had been as callous when more than one hundred people died at the altar of demonetisation in various places of our country or when nine children were crushed in front of their school by an SUV in Bihar or thirteen poor people had been devoured by a man-eater one after another in Maharashtra for two years.
This showcases how we have been devaluing the lives of Indians. Ironically, the common people are like the Indian rupee that keeps getting cheaper by the day vis-a-vis the dollar. Some people believe that the rich have the merit in them to be treated differently. But there is no merit in inequality and inhumanity! And it does not depend on the merit of a person to be born with a silver spoon in her or his mouth.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Via email