The Uttarakhand state government’s recognition on Thursday of 12 rat-hole miners’ crucial role in the Silkyara tunnel rescue late last month has triggered a row after the miners said the decision to honour them with cheques of Rs 50,000 each was inadequate and symbolic of neglect. The rat miners, calling it “stepmotherly treatment”, claimed they had unwillingly accepted the cheques but would not cash them. The Delhi-based Rockwell Enterprises handled the final tunnel excavation. Its head Vaqeel Hasan told The Indian Express that that the miners initially declined the cheques directly from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. However, following persistent appeals from government officials and assurances of addressing their concerns, they reluctantly accepted the money. Hasan emphasised their plea for the government to extend a “milestone” gesture so the miners do not have to keep digging holes their entire lives, asserting the current acknowledgement felt lacking and disproportionate. “We said the respect being given to us is stepmotherly treatment. Those rescued from inside were given Rs 1-lakh cheques immediately by the CM, but for us, who put their lives on the line, they are giving Rs 50,000. We also said we do not want this Rs 50,000 reward, but if they want to do something for us, then set a milestone that if someone does something for India, the country does the same for them,” said Hasan. Hasan outlined their request for permanent employment opportunities or financial aid to transition away from their hazardous profession. “We asked them to either provide us with permanent jobs or give us an amount that can help us get out of this profession so that we do not need to keep digging holes our entire lives. We have made (the government) and India proud. This should, therefore, be a milestone,” he said. Hasan said the miners refused to take the cheques from the CM and put forward their demands. The CM then requested them to talk to government officials present and left for a meeting. “Following negotiations by officials and a promise to respond within a few days, we accepted the cheques to preserve decorum but have no intentions to cash them until the government addresses their requests,” he said. Earlier during the ceremony at the CM’s residence, the state government praised the rat miners’ contributions and said it was a “matter of pride” for them to contribute alongside the various agencies in the rescue effort. “Rat miners, who made significant contributions in the rescue operation, expressed gratitude to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami for being welcomed and honoured in the state. They said that it was a matter of pride for them that they got the opportunity to contribute along with various agencies to save the lives of 41 people trapped in the tunnel,” the state information department said in a statement. So far, the government has not said if they are considering the miners’ demands. Uttarakhand Director General (Information) Banshidhar Tiwari, the official who negotiated with the miners, did not respond to calls from The Indian Express. The Congress targeted the state government and accused it of demeaning the miners. State Congress spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni said had it not been for the miners’ heroic effort during the rescue operation, Dhami might have faced calls for resignation. “The rat miners declined the Rs 50,000 cheques from the government, believing it did not match the seemingly impossible task they undertook. This, they feel, doesn’t uphold the respect due for their efforts. They risked their lives to save those 41 individuals and not only resolved the crisis but also managed it without causing harm to any worker,” Dasauni said. In a social media post the day after Dhami’s Rs 50,000 announcement, former CM Harish Rawat said the amount was insufficient. “It was necessary for the state’s respect that this amount should have been at least in the proportion in which they worked. When our technology, our machines, our tricks, everything had stopped… it was the rat miners who were able to provide the glory that the entire country and Uttarakhand has achieved today… I hope the CM will reconsider this amount,” Rawat said in the November 30 post. The BJP dismissed the Congress’s remarks, accusing it of spreading “baseless rumours”. BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan criticised the Congress’s “negative attitude” about the Silkyara operation. Chauhan also criticised the Congress’s focus during the rescue operation on investigating the disaster’s causes instead of consoling the families of those trapped, labelling their action as “propaganda-driven”. “CM Dhami first rewarded the labourers trapped in the tunnel and then honoured the rat miners at the CM's residence. The rat miners were also given Rs 50,000 each as a reward. But the Congress did not like this and started propaganda on this too. The Congress is just doing propaganda inspired by low-level politics,” he said.
