Dibrugarh: A rescue operation has been going on to trace the three coal miners trapped in a rat-hole mine in Patkai hills in the Ledo area of Tinsukia but still after 48 hours, they remain untraced.
Meanwhile, NDRF and SDRF have been engaged in the search and rescue operation.
On Sunday, three coal miners identified as Dawa Sherpa, a native of Nepal and two workers from Meghalaya, John and Fenaal were trapped inside the rat hole mine while they were inside.
The incident took place at around 12.30 am when the rat hole mine caved in due to a sudden landslide. It is suspected that the three coal miners are already dead buried under the rubble.
Meanwhile, the local organisations vehemently criticised the police for failing to nab the coal mafias involved in the illegal extraction of coal.
“Everybody knows about the rat-hole mining functioning in the Patkai hills. The police have been managed by the coal mafias most of the time. The illegal coal hole mining has been posing a serious threat to the biodiversity,” alleged a local resident.
He said, “It was not the first incident. A similar incident happened earlier in the Patkai hills but the district administration failed to nab the culprits involved in rat-hole mining.”
Tinsukia District Commissioner Swapneel Paul said, “The three coal miners are still missing. One team each from the NDRF and SDRF and local rescue workers are trying to locate the missing miners. Excavators are being used to dig the rubbles to locate the miners.”
He further mentioned that no case has been registered so far nor any arrest has been made.
“Investigation is underway and so far no case has been registered,” he added.
In September 2022, six coal miners have already lost their lives inside the illegal rat-hole mines in the Patkai hills.
The incidents brought to the fore the dire working conditions and the lack of safety measures in the illegal rat-hole mines.
The National Green Tribunal had banned rat-hole mining in 2014. However, coal is still extracted by following this dangerous method in the Northeast.
“The coal mafias engaged the poor workers to go inside the rat-hole mine to procure coal. In return for some money, they risk their life and go inside the rat-hole mine. Most of the time workers get trapped inside the mine and die. For many years, this process has been going on in the Margherita-Ledo area, which has now become a crime belt,” said a local resident.