| September 16, 2006 | ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL | WEEKLY | |
| Death by Mining When the plucky six-year-old Prince Chander spent nearly 50 hours trapped in a 60-feet deep pit in Haryana before being rescued on July 23, almost the entire nation ended up watching the rescue process on television while many held all-night prayer vigils. Apart from public acknowledgement of his stoic behaviour during the ordeal, the prime minister announced that the child’s medical bill would be paid for, the central and state governments offered Rs two lakh each to his family and Haryana’s chief minister announced a reward of Rs 51,000 each to the rescue workers and villagers who helped them. In the late evening of September 6 a blast in the 17th seam of the Bhatdih colliery of the Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL) in Jharkhand ignited the methane present in the mine. The resultant carbon monoxide choked 50 mine workers to death, the excruciating horror of which is hard to even imagine. It was only on September 8 that all the bodies were accounted for. As their remains were brought out, relatives began checking the headlamp numbers to identify their kin, so badly were they charred. All too often, the very real human tragedy and horror behind such accidents are masked by statistics, figures and bland quotes from “concerned officials”. Obviously, how the rest of the world assesses the magnitude of any disaster is proportionately dependent on how much coverage in terms of time, visuals and space, the media decides to devote to it. The impact of media coverage is not a new phenomenon. What is a more recent and rather disturbing trend is that public opinion is increasingly swayed by what the media, especially television, decides is worthy of attention. So, the fact that 50 men died a horrific death in circumstances that were created by downright negligence and disregard for the safety of workers does not become a talking point even in circles where it ought to be. The consequence of this is that it is reported as if it were just another accident that has no lessons for us. Of course, the usual reactions followed immediately. | The blame apportioning, the compensation announcement, the condolences and the mandatory appointment of an enquiry committee, all were done according to expectation. What has not followed is a larger discussion and accountability campaign not only on what happened but what safety measures need to be implemented. The rescue workers were hampered by a very basic lack – no maps of the mine were available to them. A former union minister of state for coal, Rita Verma, used the occasion to relate how she had asked the BCCL to prepare maps of all the mines in the area but this had not been done. No one asked her why she had not taken the BCCL to task and insisted that her directive be followed. Similarly, the National Front of Trade Unions declared that it would file a case of murder against the BCCL. That is all very well, but given that the region has a long list of fatal mining disasters, trade unions must be much more vigilant at putting authorities on the mat about safety measures before accidents take place, not after. The Bhatdih mine is a “degree 3” mine. The classification is according to methane content per tonne of coal and this mine had the most dangerous amount – 10 cubic millimetres per tonne. Following the disaster, the BCCL management has reportedly decided to close down high-risk degree 3 mines with low production. What the implications will be for the workers of these mines has not been spelt out. More seriously, media reports point out that Coal India (BCCL is its subsidiary) has utilised less than half of its safety and security budget in the last two years. This could have been used not just for safety measures but also for mechanisation, which could help in increased production. The power industry gets as much as the 70 per cent of the total 400 million tonnes of coal produced in the country and with coal much in demand in the cement, iron and steel sectors, there is a demand-supply gap which is now met by imports. India has geological reserves of 253.30 billion tonnes and proven reserves of 95.86 billion tonnes. The coal ministry has put up 20 |
coal blocks for allotment to private players for captive mining and has received 665 applications.
It cannot be denied that underground coal mining is a hazardous operation – witness the accidents in China and Russia in recent years. But it is rather telling of India’s concern for workers’ lives that in such an important sector, when plans are afoot to increase investments, the basic measure of preparing mine maps is given the go-by.
EPWEconomic and Political Weekly September 16, 2006
