Boats, Cranes To Search For 13 Trapped In "Rat Hole" Mine In Meghalaya
GUWAHATI, Dec 15: Two days after 13 people were trapped in an illegal "rat hole" coal mine in a remote part of Meghalaya, massive search and rescue operations are on. Over 100 personnel have been pressed into action since Friday morning to rescue the people from the 320-feet deep mine.
Dozens of emergency workers were pumping water out of a large trench that was flooded early Thursday near a nearby river in the mineral-rich state. The water inside the mine is around 70 feet deep, official sources said.
The rescue teams include personnel from the National Disaster Response, State Disaster Response Force and civil defence.
NDRF rescuers and divers searched inside the flooded coal mine and all accessible areas with the help of boats. Poor visibility inside the mine due to muddy water and coal dust remains a big challenge for the rescuers. No map or plan of the mine - divided into chambers - is available, making it tougher to locate the trapped people.
The police in East Jaintia Hills, who got to know about the missing miners on Thursday morning, said the mine appears to be an old, abandoned one where illegal mining had resumed about a week ago. "Rat hole" mines are common in Meghalaya as they are dug by locals but are very dangerous as the coal is pulled out from narrow, horizontal seams.
"The focus is on the rescue operations in the area. We are concerned about them.The NDRF and the police are leading the operation. We admit that illegal mining was going on. We will take action. This is not acceptable," Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told NDTV.
A complaint has been registered against the owner of the mine who is missing.
Three of the trapped miners inside are from Lumthari in Meghalaya. The remaining 10 are from West Garo Hills and neighbouring Assam.
The National Green Tribunal had banned coal mining in Meghalaya in 2014 after environmental activists complained it was responsible for severe water pollution.
But the practice continues with miners illegally extracting coal using dangerous so-called rat hole mines which often lead to accidents.
At least 15 miners were killed after they were trapped inside a flooded rat-hole mine elsewhere in Meghalaya in 2012. Their bodies were never recovered.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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BJP, TMC hail SC directions on counting of votes for West Bengal polls
Kolkata (PTI): The BJP and TMC on Saturday both hailed the SC directions on the Election Commission's circular over the deployment of central government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal.
The apex court on Saturday said no further order was necessary on the TMC's plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's dismissal of its petition against the April 13 circular.
In a social media post, BJP leader Amit Malviya said, "In yet another legal setback, the Supreme Court has refused to intervene. The Trinamool Congress had approached the court challenging the exclusion of state government employees from vote-counting supervisor duties, and had sought an urgent hearing."
"The refusal to entertain this plea underscores a clear message -- attempts to influence or cast doubt over the integrity of the counting process will not find easy validation. Another day, another judicial rebuff for Mamata Banerjee," he added.
The TMC, however, claimed that the SC directions vindicated its stand.
"The issue raised before the Hon'ble Supreme Court pertained to the implementation of the said communication in a manner whereby only Central Government/Central PSU employees were being appointed as Counting Supervisors and Counting Assistants for counting of votes," the party said in a statement.
The TMC said it was highlighted that such an interpretation and implementation of the communication would be contrary to the framework of a fair and balanced counting process.
"After hearing the parties, the Hon'ble Supreme Court directed that Clause 1 of the communication dated 13.04.2026, relating to the appointment of Counting Supervisors and Counting Assistants, must be read along with the salient feature contained in the second page of the said communication, which provides for random selection of both State Government and Central Government employees," it said.
"The Hon'ble Supreme Court has further recorded the undertaking of Mr Dama Seshadri Naidu, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the Election Commission of India that the said communication shall be followed in its letter and spirit," it added.
The TMC said that in view of the directions, it is expected that the counting of votes shall be conducted in a fair, transparent, and balanced manner.
A special bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said the EC can choose the counting personnel, and its April 13 circular, which provides for deployment of state government employees as well, cannot be said to be incorrect.
The poll body said the apprehensions of TMC of any wrongdoing are misplaced, as the circular very clearly states that there will be a mix of central and state government employees.
The EC assured the court that the circular would be implemented in letter and spirit, and there would be state government employees also during the counting of votes on May 4.
Polling for the 294-member West Bengal assembly was held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 4.
On April 30, the Calcutta High Court dismissed the TMC's petition against the Election Commission circular, saying there was no illegality in the poll panel's decision to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from Central government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees, instead of the state government staff.
