Dimapur: Six workers were killed and four others were seriously injured after a fire broke out in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Nagaland’s Wokha district.
Sources at Risayan, an interior village in the Bhandari Assembly constituency in Nagaland’s Wokha district confirmed the death of the six workers at a coal mine, which was operating illegally.
Though the Wokha district administration did not make any official statement on the incident of fire in the illegal coal mine, local MLA Achumbemo Kikon informed the media that the incident happened at around 1 PM on Thursday.
“The six coal miners were charred to death and the four injured are in a serious condition,” Kikon said. The six coal miners were from Devipur, Sonapur, and Dayalpur villages near Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat district of Assam.
The four injured coal miners were shifted to Dimapur for treatment.
Assam minister Jayanta Mallabaruah on Friday visited the bereaved families and assured all possible assistance.
It was reported that the miners were trying to extract coal manually from a rat hole mine when a lamp, which they were using to get light, exploded, and ignited the fire.
Rat-hole mining entails a tunnel big enough for a mid-sized adult to crawl through, squat, and extract coal with a pickaxe.
This was not the first incident of deaths in the illegal coal mines in Nagaland. Similar incidents are often reported from Naginimora area in Nagaland’s Mon district.
Kikon, who is a senior member of the Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF), criticized the incumbent government led by Neiphiu Rio for not taking stern steps against the unscientific mining in the state.
The NPF MLA said illegal rat-hole mining has been going on rampantly in Wokha and Mon districts of Nagaland, and he raised concerns with the Nagaland government on several occasions.
“Several times I have told the Geology and Mining Department to stop the illegal mining. Unfortunately, nothing happened,” Kikon said.
The MLA also said he has been trying to create awareness about safer and scientific ways of coal mining in Nagaland.
“The government should take immediate steps so that proper guidelines are followed and coal is extracted scientifically,” the MLA said, adding that the mining operations are causing huge damage to the environment.
Meanwhile, it was reported that two owners of the illegal coal mine have been arrested by Nagaland Police on Friday afternoon.
