Three labourers died of asphyxiation inside an illegal coal mine in Surendranagar district of Gujarat on Saturday.
It is the fourth such incident reported this year in which a total of 10 people had lost their lives while digging for low-grade coal in illegal mines found in several parts of the district. The coal is used to fuel factories in the State and elsewhere.
The deceased have been identified as Lakshman Dabhi, 35, Khodabhai Makwana, 32, and Viram Keraliya, 35. They were working in a mine near Bhet village in Thangadh taluka without helmets, masks, or any other safety equipment, said officials.
The police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against four people, but are yet to make any arrests.
Kalpesh Parmar, a BJP taluka panchayat member, and Khimji Saradiya, whose wife is a district panchayat member of the BJP, are among the accused.
The first information report (FIR) said the accused failed to provide essential safety gear to the labourers, who died after inhaling toxic gas in the mine.
In February, three workers had died after inhaling toxic gas that emanated after a blast triggered by gelatin sticks during an illegal mining operation in the district. As per the details, the workers were digging a pit for an illegal coal mine in Devpara village. All of them hailed from Rajasthan. In January, three labourers died after being buried due to unstable soil conditions, while one labourer died last month.
Surendranagar District Collector K.C. Sampat acknowledged the recurring incidents in which workers had died.
“We had launched a special movement against such mining operations and as many as 2,100 such mines were closed and mining wells were completely buried. But it seems, some of them have been reopened,” Mr. Sampat told The Hindu, adding that “the local administration takes this issue very seriously.”
“Our main concern is the unscientific method that’s used for mining,” Mr. Sampat added.
Revenue and police officials in the district are silent about the involvement of local politicians of the ruling party but privately admit about the nexus between the mining operators and local politicians.
“There have been frequent incidents of deaths in Surendranagar district where illegal mining of coal is rampant with involvement of local politicians of the ruling party,” Gujarat Congress spokesman Manish Doshi said. On Sunday, AAP leaders held a press conference in Surendranagar, demanding strict action against those responsible for running illegal mines in the district.
Sources said the proliferation of unregulated coal mines has become a death trap for impoverished workers who get paid ₹500-₹700 a day to work in pits that are 80 to 100 feet deep to extract coal using gelatin sticks for blasting, which is completely illegal.
Other local officials suggest that there are no safety measures. The workers are not given helmets, gloves, or any kind of protective clothing.
“It’s a serious problem that has been going on for past several decades,” a senior police official who earlier served in the district said.
The AAP leaders on Sunday claimed that 18 to 20 people had died in the past six months but only a few incidents had been reported in the media.
“In the past six months, around 20 labourers have died in the illegal mines in this area and yet there has been hardly any prompt action taken by the government to stop this activity,” said AAP leader Vikram Dave.
He, along with local Congress worker Vipul Makwana, demanded action against mining lease owners as well as those who are mining illegally in government lands.
