Editor,
It was on Dec 13, 2018 when Meghalaya came into the news for yet another wrong and horrific reason. 16 miners were trapped in the coal mines at Ksan, East Jaintia Hills. Till date the search operation has managed to bring out only two decomposed bodies. Rescue operation teams are finding it difficult, or to be more precise are certain that it is next to impossible to bring out any other bodies even if they manage to locate them. It is really tragic because the loss of precious lives and the vacuum that these dead miners create in the hearts and minds of their families is unimaginable. And no amount of compensation will ever make up for the loss. Sadly, for the material gain of the owners of the coal mines, precious lives of the miners are sacrificed at the altar of death. In spite of knowing full well that rat hole mining is dangerous yet the owners carry on with this mining method to reap profits while the poor labourers, forced by poverty and lured by the wage, plunge into this sacrificial hole. It may not be wrong to state that coal mining is indeed a matter of great shame for the State, dangerous for the labourers and an irreparable loss for the family members while the only ones reaping wealth are the mine owners and their aides. Isn’t this a display of greed and lack of humanity and fellow feeling?
The government as well as coal mafia are aware of the criminality of coal mining, yet rampant mining of coal is being carried out as it is a lucrative business. The nexus between the coal mine owners and the authorities concerned is so robust that in spite of the NGT ban, coal mining is still going on in the state. Many such incidents in the past may have passed by unreported but it’s about time that the Government takes this matter seriously and comes up with a Mining Policy that will enable the mining of coal using scientific methods. If this is not feasible then mining activities must be stopped. Period. This will save lives, save our rivers and streams and preserve and conserve the environment as a whole.
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email
The price for Masood Azhar
Editor
Finally, the UN has declared Masood Azhar a global terrorist, and it is a symbolic win for India. How much of terrorism, pursued by this man, in India, can now be arrested remains to be seen. However, the behind the scene activities needs to be known, and the public should be aware of this. Till recently, India was having a good rapport with Iran, and Iran was supplying oil to India in Rupee terms. The US administration under the tutelage of its maverick President, Donald Trump, was hell bent on imposing sanctions on Iran, for one reason or the other. At the same time, the US appears to be supportive of Saudi Arabia, and its murderous heir apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. This Wah-habi regime of Saudi Arabia is one prime exporter of Islamic terrorism all across the world, including killing of hundreds of civilians in Sri Lanka recently. The price of Masood Azhar being declared a global terrorist may be quite high to the nation, which only time would decipher in the future.
Yours etc.,
A Bhuyan
Nagaon (Assam)
Terrorism has no religion
Editor,
Apropos the letter, “India should remain vigilant” by Subhash Chandra Agrawal (ST May 2, 2019), the writer’s views are not only very shocking but also laughable. Terrorism it seems is super-inflated when the elder brother of the descendants of Isaac commit violence on the younger brother of the Ishmael family tree. Of course the Palestinians terrorise the Israelis on the Gaza Strip but this does not give a license to the Israelis to do aerial bombing. Please don’t be obsessed with local TV news. Watch BBC sometimes where you can see meaningful debates by Stephen Zakur and others who are really neutral anchors. The security of the nation depends on the strength of the military and not on a private entity. The writer should have courage to name the pseudo secularists who resist military action and who always stand in the way of security. If we look at terrorism from an angle that suits us as it was done in the Christ Church incident, then terrorism from any religious group is not going to wither away soon.
Yours etc.,
- Khyriem.
Shillong – 14.