Will 17 Miners Die in Meghalaya Because the NDRF Didn’t Do Enough?

The NDRF could have asked the Centre to help long before this, so why didn’t they?

Seventeen men will likely die in a dark, wet mine in Meghalaya if those in power continue to sit quietly twiddling their thumbs.

A mine flooded and collapsed in Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills on 13 December. Eighteen people were working in the mine at the time, according to the lone survivor of the accident. The miners apparently hit an aquifer, leading to a rush of water into the narrow mine that resembles a rat-hole.

The mine filled with water fast, trapping the people who were working. Twenty-two-year-old Sahib Ali, the only one who went down into the mine and escaped, narrated what happened to news website EastMojo.

“I was in the air, just 4-5 feet from the ground, on the cart, when the mine started filling with water. There was no time for anyone to escape. The whole mine was underwater in a few minutes. I managed to escape but so many people have suffered so much loss.”

Saheb Ali, survivor

Losing Lives Due to Lack of Equipment?

After two weeks of trying to save the trapped miners, the NDRF and district authorities suspended the rescue operation, stopping the pumps purging the water from the mines, on 24 December, reporters on the ground told The Quint.

The NDRF’s deputy commissioner in Jaintia Hills, Federick Dopth, told The Quint that he had written to the Meghalaya government on 19 or 20 December asking for 100 horsepower pumps to clear the water.

Till now, the only pumps they have are two 25 horsepower pumps.

“We wrote to the Meghalaya government and Coal India. They need to arrange for the pumps. We can’t arrange for them.”

Federick Dopth, Deputy Commissioner, NDRF, Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya

Sanjoy Hazarika, the Director for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, says that a lack of equipment might not be the only reason for calling off the search. He says that the NDRF’s “incompetence” is another reason for their handling of the situation. He adds that India’s NDRF isn’t trained to handle situations like this, adding that the mine is filled with over 70 feet of water, while the NDRF’s rescue divers can only go as deep as 45-50 feet.

Remember the Thai Football Team’s Cave Rescue?

You remember earlier this year, when 12 boys from a Thai football team were trapped in a cave? Remember how Indian and international media covered it continuously? Remember how two British divers rescued the 12 boys and their coach after weeks of being trapped?

Remember how the 12 boys and their coach were rescued and lived to see their families again? Fact: An Indian technology firm was also involved in the rescue.

Yeah, no. There was none of that for the miners trapped in Meghalaya. And, according to the lone survivor’s account, the chances of them being alive are very slim.

“There’s no way anyone survived. The water filled the mine in less than five minutes. They’re all dead. The mine they were in had no space to stand or sit. There was no spot where water hadn’t gotten in.”

Saheb Ali, Survivor

Why Didn’t the NDRF Do More?

It’s true, the NDRF’s Deputy Commissioner in Jaintia Hills had written to the Meghalaya government asking for help. But the NDRF also has the power to write to the Central government asking for help.

This is what Disaster Management expert Bhanu Pratap had to say:

“The NDRF can airlift equipment if required. They can reach out to the Centre for resources if they need it, depending on how serious they think the situation is. The NDRF is funded by the Centre. They can ask for help if the State government can’t meet their needs.”

This raises the question – why, at some point since the initial letter to the state government, didn’t the NDRF approach the Centre?

Speaking to News18, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the Centre has given them support but the situation was “very difficult”.

“The NDRF has been sent in full force. It's just that the situation is very tough,” he added.

Well, we asked the same question to the NDRF’s commandant SK Sastri, who was overseeing the rescue. And he asked me to ask the Deputy Commissioner. When we tried to call the Deputy Commissioner Federick Dopth again, there was no response.

So why didn’t these miners get the same treatment and attention that those 12 boys did?

Why Leave These Miners for Dead?

There could be a multitude of reasons. The NGT banned coal mining in Meghalaya in 2014, meaning that the mining itself may have been illegal to begin with.

Second, it’s mostly migrants who are employed in these mines. And finally, there’s also the possibility of child labourers being the ones trapped in the mines. A petition was filed against the mining in 2015 as well, which claimed that 70,000 children were employed in the mines.

The subject of children working in Meghalaya’s coal mines was covered in a documentary called ‘Fireflies in the Abyss’ and was met with very little outrage from India and the world.

There are many incidents of water filling these illegal mines leading to the deaths of miners. The deaths of 15 miners in 2012 was one of the triggers for the ban on illegal mining.

So now, while the state’s agencies continue deliberating over the rescue, with each passing day, there’s a little less hope that these miners will be found alive.

(With inputs from Eastmojo and NDTV)