After local activists in Meghalaya¡¯s coal-rich East Jaintia Hills district protested against illegal coal mining activities, the state is now carrying out a vigorous search operation to rescue 13 miners who are trapped inside the ¡®rat-hole¡¯.
Due to heavy flooding, the rescue operation has become even more cumbersome and water is being continuously pumped out to find them. NDTV reported that around 100 personnel have been sent to the coal site which is around 320 feet deep.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also assisting the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). The navigation operation is turning out to be a tedious job due to the narrow and irregular nature of passages that have been made by rat-hole mining.
Photo: AP/ NDRF team engaged in rescue operation
Dozens of emergency workers were pumping out water which runs 70 feet deep in the mine. Following this incident, Meghalaya Chief Minister K Sangma told HT, ¡°I think appropriate action will be taken at the appropriate time against people involved in illegal mining. This is not something acceptable to us.¡± He expressed grief at the incident and said that everyone was praying for them.
NDRF rescuers and divers searched the flooded area to find the miners. Boats were also being used to navigate through the trench. Poor visibility due to muddy water and coal dust is acting as an impediment to the rescue operation.
Another loophole is that no navigation map of the mine which would tell the rescuers about the division of chambers is available.
"Rat hole" mines are common in Meghalaya as they are dug by locals but are very dangerous as the coal is pulled out from narrow, horizontal seams. Last month there were reports of a leading social activist Agnes Kharshiing was brutally assaulted by a group of unidentified assailants, suspected to be from the coal mafia, in Meghalaya¡¯s coal-rich East Jaintia Hills district, HT reported.
Photo: AP
After this attack the Chief Minister had reportedly denied any allegations that illegal mining was going on in the hills. However, after the report of 13 miners came out, Sangma has accepted that illegal mining was going on and that it wasn¡¯t appropriate.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned rat-hole coal mining across Meghalaya in 2014 citing environmental reasons. Meanwhile, the Shillong Times reported in July this year that Chief Secretary PBO Warjri had informed that no rat-hole mining was taking place anywhere in Meghalaya and the practices now involved a bit of science.
In a petition filed by the All Dimasa Students¡¯ Union it was alleged that rat-hole mining in Jaintia Hills was polluting the Kopili River and turning its water acidic.