‘Mine map not correct, where do we look?’

There are at least 30 more women, with children and other relatives, who are anxiously waiting for some news of their husbands. And as the hours pass, any chance of saving the miners is receding. In fact, they may already be dead. But Ramti lives on hope: “I have a hunch that he is alive,” she says, consoling her sobbing daughters.

Marine divers from Vishakhapatnam today failed to locate any survivors in the air pockets. “The problem the divers are facing is that the blueprint of the mines is not accurate. Therefore, they have to feel their way through 250 metres below the surface in dirty water and toxic gases,” a naval spokesman said in New Delhi.

The Navy today clarified that none of the divers had heard any voice yesterday. “There must have been some misunderstanding. The divers were inside the mines for over 12 hours but they did not hear anything,” he said. Though there were reports of the divers having spotted a body this evening, the naval headquarters said this was yet to be confirmed.

A five-member team of divers, led by Lieutenant Amit Prakash, reached the mine yesterday. “The search operation lasted for over 12 hours yesterday and a team from Vishakhapatnam, led by Lieutenant Commander Hooda, reached there today, but so far there is no news of any success,” naval sources said.

“It is pitch dark inside and despite holding lamps they can see little in the dirty black water. The chances of finding survivors appear slim but till we go through the entire mine we cannot rule out anything. There could be several air pockets and the divers are taking turns to comb the entire area,” he added.

Yesterday Lt Amit Prakash’s team was on the job. Each diver, wearing a blue uniform with an oxygen mask covering the face and a helmet on his head, had entered the Joyrampur colliery where one of the walls had collapsed following an explosion triggered by BCCL personnel. This had led to the flooding, as water from the pond gushed in. Pradeep Kumar and Ramlal Parmar, members of the team, said their efforts were wasted.

BCCL official Ramendra Singh tells reporters that Director (Personnel) C H Khisti has now appealed to the naval headquarters to send “expert swimmers”, who are likely to arrive by tomorrow.

But miner Hari Manjhi, who had shouted “they are thieves, looters, they must be hanged” when Chief Minister Babulal Marandi came visiting on February 3, says all this is an elaborate hoax. “Nobody can survivewithout food and air in a flooded mine for four days and nights. TheDirector General of Mine Safety (DGMS), R L Arora, and BCCL and CIL functionaries know this very well,” he says, his eyes flashing anger.

In fact, yesterday the DGMS and BCCL CMD Ashok Mehta were gheraoed by the miners and accused of failing to enforce safety rules.

The mine complex is packed with men and material now. Near the lift, two motors are pumping out water from the mine and disgorging them into the fields, but the water level has shown no change, says the operator.

“That’s because while we are removing water from one end, it’s coming in from the other end from the pond,” he explains. The pond is officiallyestimated to hold 15 million gallons.

Outside General Manager V.S.Srivastava’s chamber, there are mining instruments, pumps and pipes. A crane and an ambulance are also stationed. There are many trucks and cars also in sight, besides the waiting people.

On a table inside Srivastava’s chamber is laid out a map of the Bagdigi and Joyrampur collieries. This is where BCCL officials plan their “rescue operation”. And this is where they were gheraoed yesterday while sipping tea and biting into samosas, gulab jamuns and bhujia.

“Ye gidh log hain, chai pi rahe hain, mithai kha rahe hain,” (these are vultures, sipping tea, eating sweets) a distraught miner had shouted. “Kahte hain enquiry hoga. Ab jab sab mazdoor dab kar mar gaye, jalpalawan ho gaye, to enquiry se ka hogo (Now when they are all dead, what’s the point of holding an inquiry). Anger mixes with the stink of death in the air.