Govt alone can’t be blamed for mine tragedy: Prestone

SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Tuesday the government alone cannot be blamed for the mine tragedy in East Jaintia Hills.
Tynsong said the tragedy “is not an isolated case” and similar disasters have occurred in other parts of the world. But he added that he was neither blaming the previous MUA or the incumbent MDA government. It is more than a month since 13 coal miners are trapped inside an illegal coal mine at Ksan in East Jaintia Hills and all efforts to rescue them have failed. When asked how long the rescue operations will continue, Tynsong said, “Experts are on the field. We will ultimately hear from them and they have not said anything as of now.” But he lamented that the result of the rescue operations “is not as expected despite the best efforts of the government”. He also stated that the government has instructed all district SPs and DCs to be more proactive and seize any coal mine and arrest people who are involved in illegal coal mining. But he pointed out that mining sometimes takes place in interior places and “it is difficult for the administration to keep a check on such activities”.