The article talks about a tragic accident in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, where four people have died due to a deadly coal mining incident.
This has brought back the focus on “rat-hole” coal mining, which is an extremely dangerous and outdated method of extracting coal.
Rat-hole mining is different from modern coal mining because it doesn’t use machines. Instead, people (and sometimes even children) dig small, narrow tunnels by hand to get coal from underground.
These tunnels are often unstable, and miners sometimes dig so deep that water from underground streams or aquifers floods the tunnels. This sudden flooding can trap miners or drown them, which is what’s suspected to have happened in Dima Hasao.
This kind of mining is very risky and has caused many accidents and health problems over the years.
Because of the dangers, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in India banned rat-hole mining in 2014. However, the practice didn’t stop, and this tragic accident shows that rat-hole mining still continues, sometimes illegally.
The Assam Chief Minister has said that the mine involved in the recent accident seems to be “illegal,” meaning it shouldn’t have been operating in the first place.
He also pointed out that the mine had been abandoned by the government’s Mines and Minerals Department. This shows a failure by the government to stop illegal mining.
In 2019, the Supreme Court asked whether such dangerous mining could continue without the help of government officials, especially after a similar incident in 2018 where 15 miners were trapped in a rat-hole mine.
A report from a committee set up by the NGT found that despite the ban, there is still demand for coal, especially for cement factories and power plants in the northeast. This demand keeps rat-hole mining alive, even though it’s illegal.
In some cases, local authorities have even turned to rat-hole miners for help. For example, in 2023, rat-hole miners from Assam were called to rescue workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi after advanced machinery failed to help.
The article argues that until the government takes stronger action to end the economic reasons behind rat-hole mining, these dangerous practices will continue.
Without stopping the demand for coal that supports rat-hole mining, we will likely see more accidents in the future, just like the one in Dima Hasao.
The article ends by saying that the tragedy will eventually be forgotten, only to be replaced by the next disaster, unless real and lasting changes are made.
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