Assam Government's Massive Crackdown On Illegal Rat-Hole Mining

The Assam government has started a massive crackdown against illegal rat-hole mines in the state.

Thirteen illegal rat-hole mines were sealed and three miners working inside them were arrested on Saturday in a joint operation by the Assam government and Coal India Limited (CIL).

"We have begun the process of sealing all rate hole mines. The whole process will take time as the logistics requirement is huge. We have begun by restricting access to such mines and dismantling and seizing the equipment," Dima Hasao Superintendent of Police (SP) Mayank Kumar Jha said.

"Rat hole" mining is a hazardous technique where narrow tunnels are manually dug by workers.

The operation began at 8.30 am on Saturday and was overseen where Executive Magistrate of Margherita co-district Pritom Gogoi, Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Abhijit Gurav, officials from North Eastern Coalfields and Assam Power Distribution Company Limited.

The decision follows a meeting of the Assam Cabinet on January 16 in Morigaon, where it was decided that all rat-hole mines in the North Eastern Coalfields of Assam will be permanently closed.

It comes close on the heels of a tragic incident at an illegal rat-hole mine in Umrangso in Dima Hasao, where many coal miners tragically lost their lives.

Eleven people have been arrested so far in connection with the mine tragedy.

The mine was flooded on January six when water had gushed in suddenly, trapping nine workers inside. Four bodies have been recovered since then in the rescue operations.

On Saturday, Assam Mines and Minerals minister Kaushik Rai handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the four miners whose bodies have been recovered. The families of the five miners who remained trapped inside the mine were given cheques of Rs 6 lakh, with the remaining amount to be handed to them later.