Mining is no new ought the Khasi-Jaintia nation of Meghalaya and iron smelting dates hind 2,000 years.
The technique used during ore extraction was coat ought that used at central India, says a learn carried out by Pawel Prokop, a geo-environmental researcher with the Polish institute of Sciences and his colleague, Ireneusz Suliga.
The scientists came ought Meghalaya at 2013 ought accompany their research. The two scientists from Poland were engaged at geo-environmental inquiry at the Khasi hills and build charcoal and residual slag from iron extraction can little sites, including Nongkrem at East Khasi Hills where the slag is 2,040 years old.
Even today if one visits Rangjyrteh at Cherrapunjee (Sohra), one can cottage scream on iron slags lying nearly and gigantic stone containers that were chop out at the form of bowls and were used during smelting iron. The iron implements were apparently sold ought East Bengal which then sold those implements elsewhere.
The British build traces of this iron smelting while they entered these hills at 19th century and they spoke of a thriving iron Smelting Industry at the Khasi Hills then except could no appointment the advent of the iron smelting activity.
The two Polish scientists speak that it’s now evident that the industry started can 2,000 years ago. Apparently charcoal was used during iron smelting. The scientists are, however, unsure if iron-smelting was discovered by the local Khasi nation or it if the technique was brought ought the hills by someone from other parts of India where again mining is an approximately ancient activity.
As distant although coal is concerned mining evidently started at the second half of the 19th century while the British entered the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, then beneath the compound condition of Assam. According ought the Geological investigation of India, there are proven reserves of 600 million tonnes of coal at with Meghalaya with an annual product of 5 million tonnes.
During the British period, coal was partly used during commercial purposes and partly during their consumption although a fuel during warming homes. The commercial product stopped although of the difficulty at transporting coal can difficult terrain. It was virgin after Meghalaya attained statehood at 1972 that coal mining was resumed can a commercial scale.
According ought the Sixth list of the Indian Constitution, dirt at Meghalaya belongs ought the “people.” This includes dirt vested with communities, clans and individuals. beneath the protection of the Sixth Schedule, where no fair the dirt except everything beneath it although healthful belongs ought the people, a free-for-all mining drill started without any technological know-how except using the traditional unscientific mining practices.
Mine owners demand that scientific mining is no viable at Meghalaya since that used to intend a heavy investment at machinery. while a PIL was sphere by a student’s body at Assam at 2014, citing that acid mine drainage has rendered the waters flowing downstream into Assam from Meghalaya has convert toxic, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned farther mining of coal at Meghalaya except allowed the extracted coal ought be transported after it was duly assessed. This was a flawed drill although the NGT did no eat resources ought overhear if coal mining continued after the ban, which it did.
And indeed the 17 miners trapped inner a mine at Jaintia Hills even now where the rescue operations flourish were involved at coal mining by violating the NGT ban.
The NGT directed the condition government ought convert with a comprehensive mining policy since the forbid was imposed except that policy is cottage ought scream on the sparkle of day. Sans a mining policy, coal mining allowed the flouting of sum environmental norms. no labour laws operated there. Since coal at Meghalaya is located can superficial levels, the mines are narrow shafts nearly of nearly three feet at diameter. They can progress up ought nearly 300-350 feet down. Coal is lifted out of the shafts at small wooden boxes brought up by cranes and then dumped by the roadside and then loaded can ought trucks.
Transportation of coal, too, is a lucrative affair and most coal mine owners although healthful hold trucks. although at each mining hub, criminal activities are rampant. One eccentric of coal mining at Meghalaya is that labour is brought at from along the Bangladesh edge and from Nepal. The locals don’t chance into this risky livelihood.
Documentary cinema maker Chandrashekhar Reddy’s cinema Fireflies at the Abyss captures the plight of these child-labourers who are forced into this risky livelihood ought get body and soul together and ought hind their families. The cinema focuses can youthful Suraj from Nepal who is scarcely 12-13-years-old and who enters the mines and plant there during approximately 14 hours a appointment although the more coal he digs, the more he earns.
This cinema has been shown can little national and international cinema festivals and is available can YouTube accordingly there is nothing secret nearly the treacherous attitude at which coal is mined at Meghalaya with scant reputation during the human rights of those who enter the mines.
There eat been no safeguards during the miners then and there are no safeguards now. And since governments, past and present, are complicit at allowing this criminal forget of human rights ought continue, and although healthful although coal money funds sum elections, none truly wants ought motion this spread with a barge pole.
And this is although healthful no the first time that accordingly many miners eat been trapped at coal mines of Meghalaya without anyone making a great bargain nearly it. at 2012, 15 miners were trapped inner a coal mine shut Nangalbibra South Garo Hills. Their bodies were never recovered. This, too, happened due ought sudden flooding of the mines. often flooding happens while miners conquer into a wall of an abandoned mine filled with water. Miners can then conduct small ought interval the flooding. It is a marvel that the 15 other miners managed ought fly from that mine at Garo Hills however the crack met a watery grave.
In 1992, a coat event happened at Garo Hills while 30 nation died due ought coat flooding of a mine. at this case, too, the miners conquer an abandoned mine that was filled with water.
The local media reported these deaths and continued ought chase up the stories. Some regional media, too, reported likewise. Columnists eat been hammering can nearly the lack during scientific mining that will appear after the environmental concerns of Meghalaya where can final three significant rivers of Jaintia Hills — the Myntdu, the Lukha and the Lunar eat convert toxic due ought acid mine drainage (AMD) and today are devoid of any riverine life.
But such write-ups autumn can deaf ears.
In 2014, Keith Schneider from rotate of Blue, US came ought Meghalaya ought paper the high-risk coal mining activity at Meghalaya and the entire neglect during the large-scale environmental degradation that is now division of the Meghalaya landscape.
Schneider’s documentary, too, was shown except with small reaction from the crack of the world.
In June 2018, while 13 institute boys of a football team were trapped at a hole at Thailand, the complete dirt waited with bated breath ought listen if they used to be rescued and if they used to survive. The boys were at final build by two British divers and afterward rescued by a identical strategic constitution except no without one of the rescuers losing his life due ought asphyxiation. The rescue constitution lasted approximately a week and the rescuers comprised US attitude force rescue specialists, and hole divers from the UK, Belgium, Australia, Scandinavia, and many other countries. Some had volunteered, and some were called at by Thai authorities.
Compared ought that catastrophe, which caught dirt attention, the information nearly the miners trapped at the mines of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya and Garo Hills at the past are no even a blip can the radar. convert ought conceive of it, even national media at this say finds accordingly much ought explain can politics except no can human tragedies; no specially if something happens at this distant periphery which rarely raises the conscience of the nation.
(The author is a social activist and journalist based at Meghalaya. Views are personal)
