The tragic incident in which six men were killed at a stone quarrying unit at Phirangipuram on May 27 has brought to the fore the lack of mandatory safety measures at the mining units in the district.
The six workers could have walked into a death trap as boulders of rock soaked in the overnight rain fell on them. The district administration slapped cases under section 302 (2) of IPC against four persons, including the owners, Rambabu and Subramaniyam.
Mining and quarrying is not done after a spell of rain, but the owners of the unit have not anticipated the danger.
Collector Kona Sasidhar, who initiated stringent action against the owners, had formed teams of mining, revenue and pollution control board to inspect all the quarrying units and submit a report on the conditions in which the units have been running.
The task force comprises Revenue Divisional Officers of Guntur and Narsaraopet and Assistant Director, Mines, A. Srinivasa Rao. Mr. Sasidhar also drafted a 40-point proforma detailing the mandatory permissions such as environmental clearances, mining approvals, pollution norms and mining safety norms.
Most of the units have been flouting basic safety norms, including setting up of benches during extraction of stone, sequential or delayed blasting which could minimize risks and having a buffer zone of 300 metres around the mining area.
Of the 250 stone quarrying units in the district, only few have been following the safety norms. The Mining Department, which collects seigniorage from the quarrying units, says that it has no power to take action on units. The extraction of metal from the hills surrounding Perecharla has picked up since the announcement of new Capital, which has boosted construction activity in the region.
“Set up benches”
“We recommend setting up of benches during quarrying but since most of the units are smaller in size, it is difficult. We also suggested that the owners take up sequential blasting to minimize risks, but since blasting activity is being carried by external explosive agencies, the owners have no control on this,’’ said a senior mining department official.
Many units have not adhered to basic safety norms like having a boundary wall and green plantations around the units.
