Lalmatia in Santali language translates to ‘red earth’. As befits the meaning, Lalmatia in Jharkhand is known for its mineral-rich red soil.
But, after December 29, the name holds gory significance for coal miners in the state. Around 7.30pm that day, the Lalmatia opencast coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) caved in, trapping men and machinery under an estimated 20 lakh cubic metres of soil. Rescue operations are on, and the bodies of 18 workers have been recovered so far.
Shock waves of the accident were felt at the Union coal ministry in Delhi and the headquarters of Coal India Limited, of which ECL is a subsidiary, in Kolkata. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das to visit the accident site. Modi tweeted: “Saddened by the loss of lives at a mine in Jharkhand. My prayers are with those trapped inside. Spoke to Raghubar Das on the situation. The Jharkhand government and [Union Power and Coal] Minister Piyush Goyal are working to restore normalcy. NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] has been engaged for rescue and relief operations.”
Taking part in the operations are ECL’s in-house rescue team, the men and machinery of its mining contractor, five companies of the NDRF, two companies of the Central Industrial Security Force and sniffer dogs. “We are carrying out the operations very carefully, as the place has gradually become quite unsafe for even rescue personnel,” said R.R. Mishra, chairman and managing director of Western Coalfields Ltd, who holds additional charge of ECL. “The incident is unprecedented. It happened at a time when there was no mining activity going on in the area. Currently, we have stopped all mining operations and are concentrating on the recovery.”
Officials of Coal Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), a Coal India Ltd subsidiary, are also involved in the operations. Magnetometers brought from the Ranchi office of CMPDI are being used in the search. “Most people were with the equipment when they got trapped. We are using the magnetometers to find them from the rubble,” said Mishra. So far, ECL has accounted for all the missing machinery, but not all missing miners. “We have asked the relatives of workers and, to the best of our knowledge, at least 23 people who were at the shift are reported missing,” he said.
About 40 people were at the site at the time of the cave-in. “Some of them were coming out after working the previous shift when the accident occurred,” said K.S. Patra, director (personnel), ECL. “All relatives of missing persons are cooperating with us.”
Compensation of Rs 5 lakh, in addition to the sum under the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, has been announced for families of the victims. According to Patra, Mahalakshmi Infracontract Pvt Ltd, the Gujarat-based company that has been holding the mining contract for the past two years, could also be made liable to pay compensation.
On the day the cave-in happened, said officials in the know, workers were involved in an operation to ensure the safety of the mine. The operation, called “benching of the overburden”, involved erecting structures to prevent caving in of the soil and boulders that are dumped on the non-mining area of the mine.
Coal India Limited has announced a high-level inquiry involving top officials from both the company and CMPDI. The state police are inquiring into allegations of negligence, while the directorate general of mines safety is investigating the matter as per provisions of the Mines Act.
According to B.N. Shukla, director (technical), ECL, the Lalmatia mine followed all safety protocols. Safety officers at ECL said the mining contractor ensured that all safety measures were in place. “It is a dynamic situation while mining,” said Shukla. “Things are always moving. One needs to understand that anything, including any changes in tectonic movements, could have caused the collapse and this massive slide.”
