Meghalaya: The fate of 15 miners trapped inside an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills district remains shrouded in mystery even after 15 days of the tragedy.
The search operations had been called off by the Meghalaya government as high-pressure pumps to help in the rescue are not available with the State government.
However, the ruling NPP-BJP (National People’s Party-Bharatiya Janata Party) combine in Meghalaya said the State government was making all efforts to rescue the trapped miners.
About 20 miners on 13 December entered a 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in Ksan area of Lumthari village in Meghalaya that is owned by Krip Chullet, a businessman. After reaching the bottom of the pit, they entered horizontal manholes, often termed as ‘rat-holes’, as each just about fits one person.
Five persons were able to climb out of the flooded mine, leaving the others behind. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma refuted allegations that his government was not proactive and said that the administration along with the NDRF had worked really hard to trace the miners, but unfortunately, the operation did not yield any result.
The miners were trapped after water from the nearby Lytein river suddenly gushed into the pit.
A senior Meghalaya Home Department official has said the police force in East Jaintia Hills district, where the mine is located, do not have adequate personnel to deal with the problem. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre was helping the State government in its rescue efforts.