Meghalaya ‘Rat Hole’ Mining: The Fate of 17 Miners Remains Unknown

The rescue operations have been suspended by the Meghalaya government for want of high-powered pumps.

On 13 December, 17 miners were trapped in a flooded “rat-hole” mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district.

(Photo: ANI)

“In June 2018, when 13 school boys of a football team were trapped in a cave in Thailand, the whole world waited with bated breath to hear,” the editor of Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, wrote in an article on News18, drawing an analogy between the successful rescue of the Thai boys and that of the forgotten miners in Meghalaya.

On 13 December, 17 miners were trapped in a flooded “rat-hole” mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, and their fate continues to remain unknown as rescuers fight the surging water level inside the 370-feet coal pit.

The rescue operations were suspended by the Meghalaya government on Monday, 24 December, for want of high-powered pumps to flush out water from the pit.

The officials have been waiting for 100 hp pumps to arrive for the past three days, as the state government was yet to send them across.

A government official, who is overseeing the rescue operations at the Lumthari mining site, told news agency IANS that the trapped miners are feared dead as the water from nearby Lytein stream is gushing into the pit.

What Happened on 13 December?

On 13 December, miners went in by a 15-feet-by-15-feet vertical shaft which is around 370 feet deep. At the bottom of the mine, at least four to five horizontal holes are dug from which coal chips are taken out.

According to locals, one of the diggers could have accidentally punctured the walls of the cave following which the river water gushed into it on 13 December.

A 22-year-old man named Sayeb Ali, who managed to save himself from the incident, by getting out of the mine before it caved in, told NDTV that while all the labourers working in the mine knew that it was a dangerous job, they need to work it to earn their buck.

“The coal was soft. We could understand that there was water seepage that has made it soft. The sardar knew which part of the mine had more water. He stopped us from using two seats of the mine because there were chances of the floor caving in and water gushing inside.”

The water level has still not subsided and according to NDRF assistant commandant SK Singh the current water level in the mine shaft is about 70 feet.

Rescue Operation

About 100 personnel of the national and state disaster response forces, along with the police, are waiting for the water to recede about 30 feet as divers can do their job once the water level subsides.

Although two 25-horsepower (hp) pumps were used by the collective force of the NDRF and the SDRF to drain out the flooded mine, there was no headway made in this aspect, as water from a nearby river kept flooding the mine, officials told NDTV.

“We have not found anyone, dead or alive, so we are waiting for support from the state government to carry on the rescue operation,” SK Sastri, Commandant of the NDRF's 1st battalion, told NDTV.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has written to Coal India seeking transportation of their high powered pumps to the mine to help drain the water out.

Various exercises were also conducted by different government departments in line with the recommendation of ace mining mishap expert, Jaswant Singh Gill, who had visited the site last week.

The state government had on 22 December announced Rs 1 lakh interim relief to the family members of each of the 17 miners.

What is the State Government Doing?

The Meghalaya government had sought the Union Home Ministry’s help to rescue the miners, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told PTI.

“I have spoken to the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and requested him to send in more professional teams and the best equipment they have,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had told mediapersons earlier.

Conrad said rescue teams are trying their "level best" but the situation was "very difficult" because no matter how many pumps they used, the flow of water was so high they were unable to bring it down to a level suitable for rescuing the trapped miners.

He had assured the government will engage "whoever it takes and will try its level best to save the lives of the people who are trapped inside".

ACTION TAKEN AGAINST THE CULPRITS

On 14 December, the police had arrested Krip Chullet, owner of the mine, for his alleged involvement in operating the mine. The accused was arrested from his home in Norman village. However, the two mine managers – Mohesh and James Sukhlain – are still at large.

Opposition's Reaction

Congress President Rahul Gandhi made a fervent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save the trapped miners alleging the government was not organising high-pressure pumps for the rescue operation.

He accused Modi of instead posing for cameras and strutting on the Bogibeel bridge on the mighty Brahmaputra river in neighbouring Assam after inaugurating it on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the other Congress leaders have also criticised the state government for its “failure” to rescue the trapped miners.

“If the government of Thailand can launch an operation involving international search and rescue teams (to rescue the 13 trapped footballers), this government is not serious at all in rescuing trapped miners.”

Congress spokesperson HM Shangpliang

Except for MLA of Rajabala constituency, Azad Aman, who visited the site eight days ago, none of the ministers and not even the disaster management minister visited the accident site, Shangpliang said.

Seven of the 17 trapped victims hail from two villages in Aman's constituency in West Garo Hills district.

The Congress leader also lambasted the state government for allegedly promoting illegal mining of coal in East Jaintia Hills district and elsewhere in the state.

"Since they (NPP, BJP, regional allies) could not fulfil the promise they made to voters about lifting the NGT ban on coal mining within six months of coming to power, they are promoting illegal mining, Shangpliang said.

The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance was formed early this year replacing the Congress, which had ruled the state for almost 10 years.

The MDA government led by Conrad K Sangma of the National Peoples Party, has the support of the BJP, NCP and regional parties, including the United Democratic Party, People Democratic Front, Hills State Peoples Democratic Party and Independents.

What is Rat-Hole Mining?

Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat-holes", as each just about fits one person.

According to government reports, the coal mining industry was among the biggest revenue earners for the state, generating about Rs 700 crore annually, prior to its ban in 2014.

The NGT had cited safety of miners as one of the reasons when it clamped down on coal mining in the state.

Transportation of already extracted coal is intermittently allowed for exporting the mineral to Assam and Bangladesh.

The NGT had first allowed transportation in 2015 and recently the Supreme Court had allowed transportation of already extracted coal till 31 January.

A three-member panel, formed in August by the NGT, is assessing the steps taken by the state government to restore the environment damaged due to rat-hole mining.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)