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Why are you unsuccessful? SC raps Meghalaya govt on miners' rescue
January 03, 2019
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea seeking urgent steps to rescue 15
miners trapped inside an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya since December
13.
The Supreme Court asks the Meghalaya government what steps it
has taken to rescue the 15 miners, who are trapped in an illegal
flooded coal mine in East Jaintia Hills since December 13 last year.
The
Meghalaya govt submits before the SC that the state is taking steps to
rescue the trapped miners. The state government replied, "72 NDRF
personnel, 14 Navy personnel and Coal India personnel are working since
Dec 14."
The SC asks, Then, why are they not successful? The
Court tells the Meghalaya government that it is not satisfied with the
rescue operations.
Reprimanding the Meghalaya govt, the SC said the miners rescue should be prompt and effective. "It's a question of life and death for the trapped miners and every second counts. The Solicitor General must update the court by Friday," the bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul, said.
The
PIL filed by Aditya N Prasad also sought a direction to the Centre and
other authorities concerned to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure
for rescue operations in mining.
The rat-hole mine, located on
top of a hillock fully covered with trees in East Jaintia Hills
district, had got flooded when water from the nearby Lytein river gushed
into it, trapping the miners.
Rat-hole mining involves digging
of narrow tunnels, usually three-four feet high, for workers to enter
and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat holes" as
each just about fits one person.
Image: Indian Navy personnel prepare diving equipment before entering the coal mine in Meghalaya on December 30. Pic: Reuters
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