SHILLONG/JOWAI: The two amulets (tabeez) that 35-year-old Amir Hussain had worn around his neck for his well-being turned out to be the only means to identify his body at the community health centre in Khliehriat of East Jaintia Hills on Friday.
Hussain’s body was retrieved on Thursday from the rat-hole coal mine at Ksan, about 30 km from Khliehriat, after 42 days with the help of an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) belonging to the Navy.
The miners were trapped after water filled the pit in the morning of December 13.
“We identified him from the two tabeez he wore around his neck since he was very young,” Amir’s maternal uncle Nur Kalam, who is the general secretary of AAMSU (All Assam Minorities Students Union) Panbari Anchalik, told The Shillong Times over phone from the CHC soon after the identification.
He, Amir’s mother Amina Khatun and wife Abijan Khatun arrived at Khliehriat on Friday morning for the identification.
“We had a picture of Amir wearing the tabeez,” Kalam said.
So far, Hussain’s is the only body recovered.
Hussain, who hailed from Nij Damugaon village under Panbari police station of Chirang district in Assam, is survived by two daughters and a son, besides his wife.
The eldest, a daughter, is about 10 years old while the youngest, the son, is only two. The other daughter is about seven.
“It would have been impossible to identity him without the tabeez. The face is beyond recognition,” Kalam said, adding that the family has asked the district administration to have the body sent to their home. It will most likely be done on Saturday.
Sources close to the family claimed that Hussain’s relationship with his father, Abdul Salam, a farmer, was strained.
“He only contributed to his wife’s (Amir’s mother) maintenance. Amir’s wife and children are on their own now,” the source said, adding that he had heard that the amount of Rs 1 lakh given as interim relief by the Meghalaya government to the family was almost spent repaying some loans.
“They will have to make do with whatever else the government gives,” he said.
Hope renews
The identification of Hussain’s body has given hope to Manik Ali that his brother, Monirul, who is also among the trapped miners, can be located.
“Monirul has to be in the same hole where Amir’s body was found,” he told The Shillong Times on Friday.
He said Amir and Monirul had been working together for the past three-four years and had also left home together to work at the mine at Ksan. Manik’s family also hails from Chirang.
“Amir used to cut while Monirul would bring out the coal in the wheelbarrow,” he said.
“In the mines, such partnerships develop and they try to help each other at times of crises,” he added.
“Monirul will be somewhere close to where Amir was found,” he said.
The navy team is still operating the ROV in the main shaft trying to locate the remaining bodies.
The National Disaster Response Force is coordinating with other agencies with all available resources.
Kirloskar also resumed work and prepared to install its pump into one of the old shafts. The Odisha Fire Services operated its pump on Friday and discharged 90,000 litres while the CIL pumped out 34,02,000 litres from two old shafts since Friday.
The KSB discharged 36,63,000 litres of water but sources informed that the water level remain the same.
