SHILLONG: Tragedy continued to strike the illegal rat-hole coal mines of Meghalaya with two bodies of miners being recovered from one even as the fate of 15 others trapped in another at Ksan in East Jaintia Hills district since December 13 remained uncertain.
The latest incident occurred at Mooknor, Jalyiah village, in the district on Friday, the day when the Supreme Court held a hearing — for the second day — on a petition regarding the mine mishap at Ksan and a day after it had rapped the government for having done little to rescue the trapped miners.
The incident came to light after one Philip Bareh filed a report that his nephew Elad Bareh (26) had been missing from his home since Friday.
The district superintendent of police, Sylvester Nongtnger, said an FIR had been received from Philip Bareh.
“A search was conducted and his (Elad Bareh) body was found in front of a ‘coal quarry which is a “side cutting.”
On further checking inside the cutting, another body was found, the SP said adding it was identified to be of one Monoj Basumatary of Deinchynrum in East Jaintia Hills district.
“It is suspected that boulders hit them when they tried to extract coal,” Nongtnger said, adding that efforts were on to trace the owner of the quarry.
An inquest was conducted and the dead bodies were forwarded for autopsy.
Meanwhile, rescue operations — underway since December 14 — to evacuate the 15 trapped coal miners at Ksan village were partially affected after the high-power pumps of Kirloskar Brothers Limited and Coal India Limited (CIL) encountered technical snags on Sunday, an official said.
The CIL pump was, however, restored later in the evening, rescue operations spokesperson, Reginald Susngi, said.
While two Kirloskar pumps are engaged in drawing out water from the shaft of the mine in which the miners are believed to be trapped, a CIL pump is working to dewater an abandoned mine nearby.
However, he said Odisha firefighters continued to drain out water from two abandoned coal mines in the vicinity.
However, the gains were partially neutralised as water from other mines/nearby Lytein river continued to seep in.
The three abandoned mines are being dewatered on the assumption that these may be connected to the one in which the accident has taken place.
The National Green Tribunal had ordered an interim ban on rat-hole coal mining in the state in April, 2014.
Eight nabbed
East Jaintia district police nabbed eight persons on charges of illegal mining for coal from three separate mines under Khliehriat police station on Saturday, according to official sources.
One Abdul Hussain, a crane operator, was apprehended from a mine at Sankilo Umlawang village road. Binod Basumatary, Bikaram Sonal and Arjun Rai were also nabbed from Sankilo area from a mine owned by Willingness Latam of Moopala village.
The other four — Prakash Basumatary, Jogan Boro, Danswr Narzary and Ram Kumar Rai — were arrested from a quarry owned by Brojoy Dkhar near Lelad Junction. (With IANS input)
