At least four persons have died and several others are missing after an illegal coal mine collapsed in the Mejhia block of Bankura district on Thursday night.
According to local people nearly three acres of the illegal coal mine in Kalikapur village, adjacent to Jharkhand, had collapsed.
Rescue work is yet to start, villagers at the desolate mining site told The Hindu as the mine is an illegal one. Both the authorites and the mafia have denied the incident.
Even as district police officials claimed that “no such incident occurred”, villagers said that on Thursday, "nearly 60 workers” were inside the mine when it collapsed.
“Four bodies were recovered from the spot, but that does not indicate the extent of tragedy. We think nearly 50 people were trapped and have died in the incident,” a resident of Kalikapur alleged.
Local TMC MLA Swapan Bouri, however, confirmed that he has been "informed" about the incident and the death of the workers.
There was an eerie calm at Kalikapur with villagers hesitant to talk to outsiders. On Sunday afternoon when The Hindu visited the place most of the locals refused speak about the accident and those who spoke refused to share their names fearing repercussion from the coal mafia. They also said it was not possible to visit the mine as the mafia were not allowing journalists or villagers near the Bashulithan mine.
He also said that the coal mafias pay “an occasional amount” to the villagers “to keep mum” about the mining, which is mostly illegal.
“Despite being well aware that the mine has collapsed, villagers did not try to rescue the workers trapped inside the mine. The bodies were recovered by the family members of some of the workers from Birbhum,” a local resident said. They also said that the villagers get paid by the coal mafia to stay away from the illegal mines.
"If anyone refuses to do the coal mafia's bidding they are threatened with murder," said a resident of the neighbouring village of Ardhogram, a kilometre away from Kalikapur.
According to local rights activists, there are nearly “50 illegal coal mines” in Kalikapur and adjoining areas. “These mines are run by the mafia-police-Trinamool Congress (TMC) nexus. A similar incident took place about a year back where three to four people died. But no action was taken,” an activist told The Hindu . However, he spoke under conditions of anonymity fearing repercussions from the ruling party.
Contradictory statements were made about the incident by the local TMC leadership and district police. While TMC MLA from the local Saltora Assembly seat Swapan Bouri said he was aware of the incident, Superintendent of Police of Bankura Sukhendu Hira said that they “found nothing at the spot.”
Google Maps image locates Kalikapur village in West Bengal’s Bankura district.
