© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Several workers have been trapped for more than 12 hours in a coal “rat-hole” mine after it was flooded with water on Monday (January 6) morning in Dima Hasao district of Assam.
The rescue operations have been taking place at a slow pace, with two motor pumps working to remove water flooded into the pit of the mine, reported to be a few hundred feet deep, a report by The Indian Express said.
Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the National Disaster Relief Force and the State Disaster Relief Force are on their way to the site to aid in rescue efforts. He also said the Army’s assistance has also been requested.
Rat-hole mining is a method of extracting coal from narrow, horizontal seams, prevalent in Meghalaya. The term “rat hole” refers to the narrow pits dug into the ground, typically just large enough for one person to descend and extract coal.
Once the pits are dug, miners descend using ropes or bamboo ladders to reach the coal seams. The coal is then manually extracted using primitive tools such as pickaxes, shovels, and baskets.
OP Singh, professor of environmental studies at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) in Shillong, told The Indian Express in 2018 that rat-hole mining is broadly of two types. “In the side-cutting procedure, narrow tunnels are dug on the hill slopes and workers go inside until they find the coal seam. The coal seam in the hills of Meghalaya is very thin, less than 2 m in most cases,” he said.
In the other type of rat-hole mining, called box-cutting, a rectangular opening is made, varying from 10 to 100 sqm, and through that a vertical pit is dug, 100 to 400 feet deep. Once the coal seam is found, rat-hole-sized tunnels are dug horizontally through which workers can extract the coal.
Rat-hole mining poses significant safety and environmental hazards. The mines are typically unregulated, lacking safety measures such as proper ventilation, structural support, or safety gear for the workers. Additionally, the mining process can cause land degradation, deforestation, and water pollution.
This method of mining has faced severe criticism due to its hazardous working conditions, environmental damage, and numerous accidents leading to injuries and fatalities. Despite attempts by authorities to regulate or ban such practices, they often persist due to economic factors and the absence of viable alternative livelihoods for the local population.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the practice in 2014, and retained the ban in 2015. The NGT observed, “It is also informed that there are umpteen number of cases where by virtue of rat-hole mining, during the rainy season, water flooded into the mining areas resulting in death of many… individuals including employees/workers.”
The order was in connection with Meghalaya, where this remained a prevalent procedure for coal mining. The state government then appealed the order in the Supreme Court.
