One Dead, Three Injured in ECL Colliery Subsidence

Kolkata: As the state of West Bengal immerses itself in Puja festivities, coal worker Saradacharan Mohanty's wife had also gone out for Puja shopping. Suddenly, her mobile rang, and she was informed that her husband had been in an accident as the roof of the real Jambad Bahula colliery had collapsed. By the time she reached the hospital, her husband had succumbed to his injuries.

Saradacharan Mohanty was designated as a mining sardar, and the other injured individuals are underground dredger Manoj Bhuniya and general mazdoor Asutosh Majhi, who was working as an underground dredger.

According to reports, the workers were in the colliery during the first shift on Thursday, on the 21st level when a 35-meter-long section of the coal bed's roof suddenly collapsed. Some workers have alleged that the ECL management did not arrange for a rescue team upon hearing the news and that it was “left to other mining workers to save the distressed coal workers”. Even after rescuing the coal workers from the pit, there was no medical team on-site, and not even a stretcher was provided for the injured, it has been alleged. Ultimately, the injured coal workers were reportedly placed in coal-carrying tubs and brought out of the coal mines.

CITU leader Binod Singh later wrote a letter to the ECL CMD, expressing his disappointment with the relief and rescue efforts of the ECL management. The workers, believing that safety protocols had been breached in the coal mines of ECL, staged a strong protest at the Bahula colliery. Following the protest, Saradacharan Mohanty's son was given temporary employment in the colliery on Thursday night, and the ECL management accepted the demand for adequate compensation for the deceased and injured ECL workers.

“Permanent jobs in underground roles are only available for departmental workers. At the same time, jobs such as roofing and product transportation are outsourced to third-party contractors,” said a worker from a colliery.

“There are three types of mines in the region. First, there are mines wholly operated by ECL. Second, there are mines where outsourced partners work, and lastly, there are mines where only outsourced parties work through contract workers and excavators,” he added.

In recent years, the coal industry has seen a decline of around 50% in permanent workers. In the 1990s, ECL used to employ around 1,82,000 permanent workers, which has now decreased to 52,000.