Lose-Lose situation

In a tragic incident on January 25, six labourers working in a coal mine at Ruchayan village, Bhandari sub-division under Wokha district, lost their lives after volatile gas inside the rat hole mine caught fire and engulfed the cave. Four others were seriously burned and were rushed to hospital. All six of the deceased were reportedly residents of Sonapur which falls under Sarupathar, Assam. Rat Hole Mining is a process that involves digging very small tunnels, usually about 3-4 feet deep, in which workers, more often children, enter and extract coal. According to reports, the gas trapped inside the cave may have been ignited due to activities of the coal miners and the ensuing fiery explosion left no chance for the trapped miners to flee to safety. Air inside such primitive mines can be contaminated by the presence of other gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and excess of carbon dioxide. The primitive method of rat hole mining (also called box cutting) entails clearing ground vegetation and then digging pits vertically into the ground ranging till one hits the coal seam. Then tunnels are dug in from the sides for extraction of coal, which is brought into a pit by using a conical basket or a wheel barrow. The shafts are so small that miners, including women and children, have to squeeze in and crawl on their knees to extract coal using small implements such as pickaxes.What the January 25 incident at Ruchayan village further confirms is that coal mining is going on in a huge and unregulated and unscientific manner at various parts of Nagaland. Nagaland in spite of its rich mineral resources, remains economically and industrially backward or lack of infrastructures as the various resources discovered could not be properly investigated by exploratory drilling and detailed studies, thus remained unexplored for viability and exploitation Nagaland was third with the overall estimate 446.42 MT, but only 8.76 MT out of this was denoted as ‘Measured’ and 21.83 MT as ‘Indicated.’ The rest – 415.83 MT was estimated on inference. Despite coal mining activities taking place, Nagaland has no mechanism in place to check the coal mines, stated a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) 2020-21.The report, tabled in the state assembly, showed that 44 coal mining units in Nagaland operated without permission. Records revealed that out of 49 coal mining units identified by the Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB), 44 had no authorisation. Three other coal-mining units have been operating without Pollution Control Board’s consent, the report added. When the state Geology & Mining department attempted to regulate mining by floating tenders soliciting Expression of Interest, Coal Miner Contractors’ Union, Naginimora (CMCUN) has expressed strong opposition against the move by Directorate of Geology & Mining department. Earlier, Tuli Area Coal Miner Contractors’ Association (TACMCA) had also expressed objection to the move by the government to auction coal under Tuli area. Rat Hole mining is unscientific and potentially very dangerous. Coal mining in Nagaland is a lose-lose situation as neither the land owners and local coal miners or transporters benefit much. The real juice is earned by coal mafia in Assam. In all, the worst is the negative and harmful impact on the environment where underground water and streams and rivers are poisoned by effluents from coal mines. It will take over a hundred years for the rivers to be de-contaminated.