Meghalaya miners’ kin await miracle as survival hopes fade

| | New Delhi/Shillong
  • 0

Meghalaya miners’ kin await miracle as survival hopes fade

Thursday, 27 December 2018 | PNS | New Delhi/Shillong

Meghalaya miners’ kin await miracle as survival hopes fade

As the war of words between the BJP and the Congress over trapped young miners in Meghalaya coal mine rages on, family members of the trapped workers are hoping for miracles for their safe return.

Since December 13, about fifteen people have been trapped in a flooded coal mine in Meghalaya. Those missing are believed to be teenage boys used by illegal mining groups to enter “rat hole” mines with small openings. Digging at the mine was banned four years ago, but illegal and unsafe activity by private landowners and the local community is rife.

In the meantime, contesting Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over doing little to release trapped miners, the ruling NPP-BJP Government in Meghalaya on Wednesday said the State Government is making efforts to rescue the miners.

In a sharp attack against Modi, the Congress chief said while trapped miners struggled for air, Modi strutted on Assam’s Bogibeel Bridge. The PM inaugurated the bridge on Brahmaputra river on Tuesday. 

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju asked Rahul not to do politics over the “tragedy”. He blamed the previous Congress Government in Meghalaya for the “unsafe illegal minining activities” in the State.

“No politics on tragedy please @RahulGandhi ji. We have been helping the State Govt with all possible means. But the unsafe illegal minining activities were due to the negligence of the previous Congress govt (sic),” Rijiju tweeted.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, without mentioning Rahul’s comment, said there is no inaction and that the administration and the NDRF had really worked hard to trace the miners, but, unfortunately, the operation did not yield any result.

So far, 12 lakh litres of water has been pumped out of the mine, but it seems the whole river has gushed into the pit. Getting high-powered pumps and transporting them to the site of the mishap is not an easy task, he told a private news.

On if the rescue operation could be called off under such circumstances, Sangma said there is no question of aborting the rescue work.

The Chief Minister also hoped that the high-powered pumps would be available soon.

Sangma-led NPP’s ally in the State, the BJP, also said the Meghalaya Government is doing its best under the Chief Minister’s leadership to bring the victims out of the rat-hole mine in East Jaintia Hills district.

“The Government has done and is doing its best under Sangma. We have full faith in him. He has taken up the matter with the central Government to send bigger pumps,” BJP Minister A L Hek told PTI.

The State Government tried its best but water at the mine has not receded, he said.

The Chief Minister has written to Coal India requesting for the high-powered pumps, the BJP leader said.

East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner F M Dopth said district authorities have taken up the matter with the State Government and is awaiting a response.

The high-powered pumps, as advised by ace mining mishap expert Jaswant Singh Gill, are not available in the entire North East region, as far as we are aware, Dopth told PTI.

Dopth, who ordered temporary suspension of rescue operation last Saturday, said until the bigger pumps are made available, the operations cannot resume.

Congress spokesperson H M Shangpliang told PTI that with Rahul’s intervention, “we hope the Centre will direct the State Government to change its insensitive attitude and do what is necessary to help save lives”.                      

He said a special team of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) will soon visit the site at Lumthari village and will try and meet the affected families.

However, a senior member of the ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) criticised the Congress, saying the Opposition party was creating a “fuss” over the entire December 13 episode.

“The Congress has forgotten what happened in 2012 when it abandoned the 14 miners who were trapped when a mine collapsed in South Garo Hills. Then the UPA and the Congress were in power. What have they done?” the NPP leader said, requesting anonymity.

 “The Chief Minister is taking special interest in this case and is trying to retrieve the miners dead or alive,” he said.          In the 2012 case, none of the victims could be retrieved out of the mine and “I do not remember compensation was paid to any of the affected families by the then Congress Government,” the NPP leader said.

National Disaster Response Force workers joined local authorities in the rescue effort. In 2016, six illegal miners died when a section of a closed mine collapsed in Burdwan district in West Bengal. The accident occurred when about 200 illegal miners were extracting coal from the mine.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda