Death toll in stone quarry collapse in UP climbs to 6
Sonbhadra (UP), Nov 17 (PTI): Five more bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a stone quarry that collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, taking the death toll to six, an official said on Monday.
District Magistrate, Sonbhadra, BN Singh said the bodies were recovered on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.
"One body was recovered in the night. The deceased was identified as Indrajit (30), a resident of Panari, Obra. The other deceased persons have been identified as Santosh Yadav (30), brother of Indrajit, Ravindra alias Nanak (18), Ramkhelavan (32) and Kripashankar."
The body of Raju Singh (30) was recovered on Sunday.
Uttar Pradesh minister and local MLA Sanjeev Kumar Gond, who visited the spot in the Billi Markundi mining area after the collapse on Saturday evening, said, "Around a dozen labourers might be trapped under the debris".
Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Varanasi Zone, Piyush Mordia on Sunday said clearing the rubble is taking time due to presence of several heavy stones.
Sonbhadra Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Verma had said they were informed about the incident around 4.30 pm on Saturday at Obra police station.
The caller said several workers were buried under debris after a portion of a stone quarry operated by Krishna Mining Works collapsed.
The police have booked the owner of Krishna Mining Works and his business partners, Madhusudan Singh and Dilip Keshari, both residents of Obra, on the complaint of Chhotu Yadav -- a resident of Parsoi Tola -- who said his two brothers were trapped under the rubble, the SP said.
The three accused are yet to be arrested.
Samajwadi Party's Robertsganj MP, Chotelal Kharwar, alleged that the mine was illegally run by mafia in collusion with local police.
"There is a possibility that 12 to 15 people are trapped under the stones. Tribals are being killed in many ways, and large-scale illegal mining is being carried out in this area. One or two such incidents occur every month in this region, but how the mining mafia manages everything remains unknown," he said.
Illegal mining is being carried out in collusion with the police and administrative officials, the MP alleged.
Kharwar claimed he was stopped by the police from meeting the kin of the trapped mine workers.
He also demanded Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the victim's family and a government job for each family.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
