Greed for Coal Killed mine Labourers and Devastated the Environment

By: Salil Gewali

Everyone wishes the deadly mine blast at Mynsyngat, Thangsko, Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) had never happened -- a tragedy that claimed the lives of 32 poor labourers. But it happened. Because we refused to learn from the series of tragedies that rocked our past. Each time, the lives lost, particularly those of poor labourers, were brushed aside. And this is the bitter truth!

The way labourers in Meghalaya extract coal, often merely to survive, is a heartbreaking spectacle. They juggle death every hour, every day, inside those vertical shafts and horizontal tunnels. One slip of the foot, one crack in the roof, and they vanish into the darkness down below. There is absolutely no account of how many individuals have met their maker this way. What is most off-putting is that many workers enter these narrow tunnels without proper helmets, gloves, boots, or respirators. Many crawl into the black holes bare-handed, armed only with picks, chisels, and shovels. I don’t think any mining experts have trained them.

What if someone were to ask a young boy to roast meat and bake tandoori roti in a blazing fire, without tongs, without a spatula, without even showing him how to hold the tools? The boy would surely burn his hands. That is exactly how miners are asked to crawl into rat-hole shafts — unprotected, untrained, and forced to fight against darkness, poisonous gases, and unpredictable collapses. Isn’t every minute underground a gamble with life-and-death? Yes, every strike of the pick-axe is made merely to earn a few rupees to stay alive. One wonders how one can genuinely express sympathy for their compulsion born of poverty. It really brings tears to our eyes!

Of course, I often get lost in thought, reflecting on how kind Mother Nature is. She has blessed Meghalaya with so many minerals — coal, limestone, uranium, granite, sand, and more. But here’s the most haunting question: are these natural riches meant “only for this century?” If we keep mining recklessly, greedily, without regulation and foresight for the future, won’t we exhaust them sooner than we think? Heavy extraction of iron ore in Odisha, Karnataka, and Goa has caused the depletion of high grade reserves, leading to irreparable ecological damage. Excessive mining of manganese in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra has drained high quality reserves, leaving behind bruised landscapes and a looming crisis for future generations. These are just a few examples.

I strongly believe these minerals are not just for us, not just for this “generation”. They are the inheritance of generations to come—our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, for as long as this planet exists. To plunder them today is nothing but betraying tomorrow. When will we awaken to this serious truth? Sadly, what we studied in schools and colleges about this serious concern and environmental fallout has come to nothing.

Let me add: what will it look like if our grandchildren have to import coal from Bihar and Jharkhand, while their textbooks only whisper: “Meghalaya was once very rich in coal and limestone.” One cannot help but grieve at how many more lives must be swallowed by these dark tunnels, and how many more scars must our hills bear, before we finally awaken.

About Author: A writer and researcher based in Shillong (India), Salil Gewali is best known for his research-based work, ‘Great Minds on India’, which has earned worldwide appreciation. His book has been translated into fifteen languages and edited by a former NASA scientist, Dr. AV Murali of Houston, USA. Gewali is also a member of the International Human Rights Commission Zürich, Switzerland.