Jrin Shullet – the owner of the illegal rat-hole coal mine where 15 miners have been trapped since 13 December – is currently in jail. While the 32-year old Shullet has been arrested by the Meghalaya Police, his partner James Sukhlain is still absconding, reported The Indian Express.
“Jrin has been mining coal for years, even after the ban because mining is a good source of income in the Jaintia Hills...Apart from his wife and four children, he was financially supporting the families of 20 relatives.”Shullet’s elder brother Korin (a labourer who is now unemployed), to The Indian Express.
An hour from the mine by road, in Narwan, people have no idea how much Shullet earned from the mine or whether he also owns mines in other places, The Indian Express reported.
According to the report, what the residents do know is that workers are paid between Rs 1,500 - Rs 2,000 each day, in accordance with the quantity of coal extracted.
“Most people here are illiterate, and there are no jobs. Almost everyone is involved in mining in some way — extracting, loading on trucks,”Lamsuk Langstang, the headman of Narwan, to The Indian Express
Langstang added that miners are able to donate around five to six lakh rupees to the secondary school that is run by their community; this money helps their village, he conceded. On the other hand, officials blamed the owner of the illegal mine for not even providing his workers with safety equipment, reported The Indian Express.
Like Langstang who attributed the prevalence of mining to lack of jobs, Kyrmen Shylla, the MLA from the headquarters of East Jantia Hills, also admitted to The Indian Express that mining continues “because many people have no other option to earn their livelihood than to be in the coal business.” Shylla is the state minister heading both the Social Welfare and Disaster Management departments.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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