Watch: Rescuers recover a body of a trapped miner in Assam
Army divers on Wednesday retrieved the body of a Nepali miner, one of the nine miners who have been trapped inside a flooded coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district for more than 48 hours. Despite efforts by multiple rescue agencies, divers, and a remotely operated search vehicle, no signs have yet been found of the other eight miners.
The BJP-ruled North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council has come under fire — from Opposition leaders and even a former BJP MLA — for allegedly allowing illegal coal mining in the area, after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X that the flooded mine appeared to be functioning illegally.
Overnight rains did not affect the rescue operations much, but the murky and acidic water in the 300-foot pit slowed progress. The mine, one of several rat-holes in the 3 Kilo area, is about 30 km from Umrangso, the nearest police station.
Rescue efforts
Mr. Sarma said that 21 Para divers had recovered a lifeless body from the bottom of the coal mine on Wednesday morning. “The body recovered from the well has been identified as that of Ganga Bahadur Sresth from Udayapur district in Nepal,” he said.
The State’s Special Director General of Police Harmeet Singh said that efforts were on, involving multiple agencies, to locate the remaining trapped miners, including seven from Assam and one from West Bengal.
“Yesterday [Tuesday], the water was very murky and quite acidic, so nothing was visible. Today, four divers, including the National Disaster Response Force and Army personnel, managed to retrieve the body. The remotely operated vehicle from the Navy conducted a round of the shaft, utilising its photography and sonar capabilities, but found nothing else,” he said.
An ONGC dewatering pump, used to suck out water, has been loaded into an MI-17 helicopter at Kumbhirgram in southern Assam’s Barak Valley and flown to the spot. The State Disaster Response Force have also deployed such dewatering pumps at the mine.
Illegal mining
Debolal Gorlosa, the Chief Executive Member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, has been under fire for allegedly allowing illegal coal mining operations in the area. The Bharatiya Janata Party rules the council, which encompasses the Dima Hasao district.
Apart from the leaders of Opposition parties, Mr. Gorlosa’s critics include former BJP MLA Samarjit Haflongbar. He told journalists that Punish Nunisa, arrested in connection with the mine mishap, was like a caretaker of the mine for the people in power. “The arrest is merely an eyewash,” he said.
‘Government involvement’
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah said it was unfortunate that illegal rat-hole coal mining has continued unabated during Mr. Sarma’s tenure. “Even the Chief Minister has acknowledged it but the absence of the police only proves the involvement of the government in illegal mining activities,” he said.
Jagadish Bhuyan, the general secretary of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, said the BJP-led government in Assam has backed about 70 illegal coal mining operations. Claiming that about 2,000 workers are involved in illegal mining in the Umrangso area, he questioned the role of the Assam Mineral Development Corporation in continuing these operations despite a Supreme Court ban on rat-hole mining in 2014.
