By Patricia Mukhim
This month alone in Meghalaya, tragedy has befallen four families who lost their sons/husbands on Friday July 10 and another two families that lost their children on July 15. In the first instance death was caused due to leakage of toxic carbon monoxide gas inside a water tank that was set to be repaired using a diesel engine. Diesel engines are known to emit poisonous, colourless, and odourless gas if operated in a closed space and the carbon monoxide and other toxic exhaust fumes quickly accumulate to lethal levels. That’s the reason why five lives were lost on that fateful day at Lapalang. The two brothers who heard the cry for help and rushed to save the three labourers trapped inside that hell hole—the entrance into which was just 3 square ft but whose depth was 30-35 feet—never came out alive.
Even before people could come to terms with the first disaster another one struck. In Umtangling village, in the Umroi area, Ri Bhoi district three children were electrocuted because they stepped on live wires. An overhead 11 kV power line snapped and fell across a village road. The children, who were walking by, were completely unaware that the high-voltage wire was live and accidentally touched it, ending their miserable lives. Miserable because despite the village headman having informed the MeECL no one responded to that urgent call perhaps because the caller wasn’t important enough – not a VIP or a rich elite. Of the three who died, two are siblings aged 11 and 12 years. So, a family has lost two kids just like that. Their hopes and dreams were killed by an electrical fault that was left unattended. Anywhere else the MeECL would have had to pay huge compensation. But how can poor families even approach a court of law for redressal?
India is a country where human lives are dispensable. This is repeated again and again because no one is held accountable for the loss of precious lives. In the first instance the contractor responsible for repairing the water pump should have followed some safety measures. Firstly the labourers sent inside were not trained for the technical work required of them. One of them, Pynskhemlang Mawthoh had never worked outside his village in Thangsning. The set rule is that tools powered by gasoline, propane, or diesel should never be used in enclosed spaces. Even with open doors and windows, these spaces can trap carbon monoxide and allow it to quickly build to lethal levels. In fact in advanced countries carbon monoxide alarms are fitted to such spaces where such equipment is used.
Operating any combustion engine—whether diesel, petrol, or propane—inside a confined area like the 33-foot-deep well in Dong Madan, Lapalang, is an extreme safety violation. The recent tragedy resulting in the deaths of three workers and two rescuers underscores the fact that occupational safety standards were violated. Reports have stated that enclosed spaces and fuel engines are a deadly mix due to rapid toxin accumulation. Internal combustion engines generate high levels of carbon monoxide (CO), a colourless, odourless, and highly toxic gas. In a deep, narrow well, these heavy fumes trap easily and cannot disperse. At high concentrations, carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the bloodstream almost instantly. Authorities on the subject state that the gas can knock a person unconscious in less than 30 seconds, leaving no time to climb out or call for help. Because the gas is invisible, family members or bystanders often rush into the confined space to help, unaware of the atmospheric hazard. This is tragically how the two brothers in Lapalang lost their lives. It is precisely to prevent such workplace disasters that specific safety precautions must be enforced. In the Lapalang case this was violated, resulting in 5 deaths. Can the contractor then get away with some superfluous explanations?
Safety protocols demand that all generators and fuel-powered water pumps must always remain above the ground in open air at least 20 feet away from any opening or vents. Only the suction hoses or electrical lines should extend down into the well. Before any worker steps inside an underground chamber, the air must be tested using a gas detector to ensure oxygen levels are safe and toxic gases are absent. Forced-air blowers must actively pump fresh air from the surface down to the bottom of the pit throughout the duration of the work.
Above all—and this is the most critical part—workers entering a deep well must wear a safety harness connected to a surface tripod. A trained standby person must remain at the top, equipped to crank the worker out mechanically without ever entering the toxic environment themselves.
Following the incident, law enforcement authorities registered a criminal case against the property owner and contractor for negligence under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). But whether this will be just one of many violations that will fall by the wayside is anybody’s guess. No one really cares about human lives especially when those are the lives of the poor and voiceless. The media too has a responsibility not to forget this case as yet another unfortunate accident but to follow it up regularly so that another similar accident is avoided and those who violated safety norms to cut cost receive due punishment and do not repeat such criminal acts elsewhere.
Another important question that needs probing is whether the contractor got permission to use that equipment inside a 30-35 feet hole. Who gave him the permission? Was it the Dorbar Shnong? If so is the Dorbar Shnong the competent authority to decide the safety protocols? Should the contractor not have taken permission from the State Pollution Control Board which has qualified people to decide the safety protocols?
Interestingly, in 2021 the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council was empowered to grant building permissions in areas outside the Shillong Municipality. The Khasi Hills Building Structure Regulatory Authority (KHBSRA) was created to implement the Meghalaya Building Bye Laws 2021. It is not known why the Councils wanted this power because they hardly inspect a building for which they have granted building permissions. Their concern about buildings coming up without any regulations continues to happen today when the Councils are holding that power. Houses are built right on the rivers with no respect for the regulations which state that buildings near rivers up to 3 metres wide should follow a setback of 3 metres, meaning that they must build 3 metres away from the river. For rivers wider than 3 metres, the setback is 6 metres. And buildings near the Umiam Lake should observe a setback of 50 metres. Septic tanks and wastewater treatment facilities must maintain a minimum distance of 6 metres from adjacent water bodies. Are these regulations being observed by all who have built homes post 2021? It would be good if the present Council inspects, along with the building permissions, all those who have built their homes by the rivers and the Umiam lake. Every building regulation has been violated. How? Perhaps by paying money to the inspecting authorities.
Meghalaya is one state where the rule of law is flagrantly violated. Earlier the Meghalaya High Court under Chief Justice Sanjeeb Banerjee kept a strict vigil on this aspect but now it appears the High Court has other pressing priorities than the state of our rivers, many of which have turned into drains.
Coming to the case of the three children who were electrocuted, this too is a case of sheer negligence by the MeECL. But as of writing this article it is not known whether anyone has been held accountable for this crime for that is what it is. What is the response time of the MeECL for such a serious complaint – the snapping of an 11 KV overhead power line – from citizens? Can this question be answered for our benefit?
And now let me come to the more newsy bit. While these sad events are happening here, some of our honourables are enjoying their sponsored trips abroad to watch the much touted FIFA World Cup. The upcoming finals will be held at New Jersey, USA. Ticket prices range from $7000 (Rupees 6.74 lakh to $40,000 (38.54 lakh) each. In fact the ticket prices are among the most expensive in World Cup history but not too expensive from some of our ministers (let’s not embarrass them by mentioning names). However they don’t really need to shell out money from their pockets, do they? There are enough wealthy contractors who can foot the bill. The money will come back in circuitous form from the roads and buildings of the government.
This is Meghalaya as we know it today. The poor are sinking into deeper poverty. The few who know to make money from politics and business are the only ones who thrive in this state! Unfortunate ones die because they stepped on lives wires or because they entered a gas chamber. What a life indeed!
