An estimated 13-15 labourers are reported to be trapped in an illegal coal mine located in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district since December 10. The police have launched a rescue operation to find and rescue the labourers who entered the rat-hole mine and got hedged in it after a recent flood near the Lytein river, PTI reported Thursday. An official complaint against the proprietor of the illegal mine has also been registered.
CNN reported that the miners got trapped after the shaft of the 320 feet deep mine that they were illegally digging collapsed and flooded. ”The mine is inside a jungle near (the) Lytein River and was being operated illegally,” F.M. Dopth, deputy commissioner of the East Jaintia Hills district’s administration, told the media, adding, “There is a river nearby and due to the overflowing of water, they have been trapped inside.”
After locals brought the matter to the notice of authorities, superintendent of police Sylvester Nongtynger informed, According to information received, 13 people were trapped inside an illegal coal mine at Ksan village under the jurisdiction of Saipung police station.” He added that illegal mining was probably resumed at the spot a week ago.
What’s being done to bring them out?
At the time of the interview, he said that water was being pumped out of what seems like an old, abandoned mine. The water inside the mine is around 70 feet deep, official sources told NDTV.
The search and rescue operation was ramped up in the last two days, with over 100 personnel deployed at the scene since Friday morning and dozens of them pumping out water from the trench. The rescue teams include those from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force and civil defence. Early Saturday morning, they sent boats and cranes to assist in the rescue.
However, NDRF rescuers and divers conducted boat searches inside the flooded coal mine and accessible areas to no avail. Muddy water and coal dust further led to poor visibility inside the mine, and the absence of a map or plan of the mine poses a critical challenge to locate the trapped miners.
The labourers have been identified as Omor Ali, Mezamur Islam, Mominul Islam, Shirapat Ali, Mozid Sk, Raziul Islam, Amir Hussain, Munirul Islam, Saiar Islam, Samsul Haque, Chal Dkhar, Iong Dkhar, and Nilam Dkhar, NorthEast News reported. Three of them are from Lumthari in Meghalaya while the rest are from West Garo Hills and neighbouring Assam. A number of them have been presumed or feared dead.
Why is rat-hole mining banned?
Meghalaya boasts of large deposits of valuable minerals such as coal, limestone, kaolin, clay, granite, glass sand, and uranium. According to the state government, it has more than 576 million tons of coal reserves.
The National Green Tribunal had banned the unscientific and unsafe rat-hole coal mining method in the state in 2014. The interim ban was introduced after environmental activists argued that this form of mining was responsible for severe water pollution. The All Dimasa Students’ Union and the Dima Hasao District Committee filed an application before the tribunal alleging that the water of the Kopili river was turning acidic due to coal mining in the Jaintia Hills. Earlier this month, anti-mining activist Agnes Kharshiing was brutally assaulted by alleged coal miners in the same district, after she lodged a complaint on the illegal mining and transportation of coal in the district.
Meanwhile, rat-hole mines continue to be commonplace in the northeastern state, as they can be dug up by inexperienced or unskilled locals.
“The focus is on the rescue operations in the area. We are concerned about them. The NDRF and the police are leading the operation. We admit that illegal mining was going on. We will take action. This is not acceptable,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told NDTV.
Rat-hole mining is done by digging small holes into the ground, though they are so called because they date back to the colonial era. This form of mining is extremely dangerous as the coal is extracted from narrow, horizontal seams, which often lead to accidents. Practised mostly in the northeastern states, it involves miners breaking the rocks with manual tools and carrying the material out in baskets or buckets.
This is not the first instance of such an accident, as illegal mining carried out by private landowners and the local community is widespread. At least 15 miners were killed after they were trapped inside a flooded rat-hole mine near the Nangalbibra area in South Garo Hills, Meghalaya, in 2012. Their bodies were never recovered, officials said.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius