Source: hindustantimes.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Meghalaya government to call \noff one of India\u2019s longest rescue operations to retrieve the remains of \n13 coal miners who were trapped in an illegally operated rat-hole coal \nmine at Khloo Ryngksan in East Jaintia Hills district since December 13 \nlast year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mine had flooded after water from a nearby river gushed into it trapping 15 miners. Rescuers could find only two bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meghalaya\u2019s\n attorney general Amit Kumar who pleaded before the apex court for \nformal cessation of operations said, \u201cThe Supreme Court allowed the \napplication and permitted the state to close the operation. All other \nprayers including compensation have been given up by the petitioner.\u201d \nThe petitioner, Delhi-based lawyer Aditya N. Prasad had filed a PIL in \nJanuary against the Centre for failing to rescue the miners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But \neven as the Supreme Court wanted to close the case, a request was made \nby the senior counsel of the petitioner for \u201claying standard operating \nprocedure to be followed for future similar situations across India\u201d. On\n this issue, the case has been adjourned for four weeks Kumar added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rescue operations had begun on December 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rat-hole\n mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually three-four feet \ndeep, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are \nbarely big enough to fit just one person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite a massive search\n and rescue operation by multiple agencies including the National \nDisaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), \nIndian Navy and the Army among others, except for two bodies, none were \ntraced because even as the mine was being continuously drained daily, \nwater would flood the maze of mines again by the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High \npower pumps, an underwater remotely operated vehicle (UROV), ground \npenetrating radar to trace breaches into the mine were pressed into \nservice but to no avail. Over 250 personnel were involved in the rescue \noperations. Over 108 crore litres of water has been pumped out till \ncessation of operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On\n June 7, operations had to be stopped with the water level increasing by\n 8 feet submerging all the generator sets, pumps, pipes and other \nmaterials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stranded at the site were personnel of the NDRF and \nSDRF and it was only due to the untiring effort of two youths of the \narea, Meba Sukhlain and John Suba who trekked through a mountain that \nfood and other essential supplies were able to reach the rescue teams, \nFM Dopth the deputy commissioner of the district told HT over phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though\n a final calculation of the cost incurred so far is yet to be \nascertained, sources say around Rs 4 crore has been spent while \nindicating that it could increase. The state government had sanctioned \nan interim relief of Rs 1 lakh for the next of kin of each miner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Families\n of the trapped miners had given their consent to call off the search \nand rescue operations in May, following which chief minister Conrad \nSangma had said the state government would appeal to the Supreme Court \nto permit calling off the operations as they are \u201cbecoming increasingly \ndifficult and have not yielded desired results.\u201d<\/p>\n