DC report blames CCL officials for mine mishap

The report, primarily based on the findings of the Hazaribagh Additional SP and Sub-Divisional Magistrate who inspected the Saunda mine thrice during the past three days, states that the mishap was the outcome of a series of omissions and commissions by CCL officials, from the CMD down to the Colliery Manager.

Purwar said the mine was developed by the private Karamchand Thapar group in 1965 and abandoned by the CCL in 2001. But mining and despatch of coal was started afresh last year after these CCL officers gave an undertaking to the the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS) that they had complied with its ‘‘condition’’ by dewatering this mine. ‘‘But the fact that the mine remains flooded with water today proves that they had not met the DGMS condition and they are responsible for the disaster,’’ Purwar told The Indian Express.

Purwar’s report quotes a Saunda mine employee, Suresh Mahato, having complained to Colliery Manager N.K.Martanr and Project Officer Umesh Sharma a day before the mishap that he had found ‘the roof of the mine heated up and dangerous to carry on work.’ But neither Sharma nor Martanr acted on it,’’ said Purwar.DGMS rules say every mine should have a unit to deal with disasters. The mishap took place at 7.30 AM but the CCL rescue team arrived at 10.30 AM and the devices were installed only late in the afternoon to pump out water, states the DC’s report. Acting on the DC’s report, Secretary (Home) J.B.Tubid — on instructions from Chief Minister Arjun Munda who visited the mine on Wednesday evening — has instructed Purwar and Hazaribagh Additional SP Upendra Das to proceed against the CCL officials.

So, an FIR was filed against a dozen CCL officers, including its CMD, R.P.Ratolia, Sharma and Martanr. They were accused of negligence under two bailable sections — 277 and 286 — of the Indian Penal Code. ‘‘If the workers die and their bodies are recovered we will slap section 304(A) against them,’’ Das told The Indian Express. This section, too, is bailable. The state government’s move is being described by observers as an ‘‘eyewash’’.

Meanwhile, the DGMS’s Ranchi zone Director Nageshwar Rao visited the mine and pasted a ‘‘notice’’ on its wall asking all concerned to lodge their complaint, if any. ‘‘This is to begin our inquiry into the mine disaster,’’ said Rao.