Shillong, Feb 17: VPP MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit on Tuesday questioned the sudden closure of rescue and recovery operations in Mynsngat-Thangsko mine, as the local sources indicated that in one affected mine, there were 60 to 70 workers.
What was the need of calling off the operations in haste, as the local information suggests 60-70 miners typically work in one coal mine, and the government should reveal statistics from the arrested individuals, Basaiawmoit said.
“We want to know exactly how many miners were there because those recovered bodies that the government has shown officially were not limited to the numbers which the government had given”, he said.
Not much faith in the judicial panel
He expressed skepticism over the government’s decision to constitute the judicial inquiry commission.
“Going by the records of the outcomes from these commissions… we feel that we cannot expect much from this commission,” he said, referring to the case of the HNLC leader Cherishstarfield Thangkhiew’s killing.
Govt in nexus with illegal coal miners
He accused the Meghalaya government of being involved in a nexus with illegal coal miners. The mine blast incident has exposed the truth.
The mine blast incident has exposed the truth. The time when the government will deny is over. Now, everybody, all the nations came to know that illegal extractions of coal were taking place in Meghalaya,” Basaiawmoit said.
He questioned how ministers could claim ignorance of illegal coal extraction.
“How long can you do that? The government may deny it, but the people know it, the hills know it, the rivers know it because they were affected by this illegal extraction of coal during these past 12 years.”
Basaiawmoit demanded action against officials in districts where coal passes through, saying transfer is “too lenient” given lives lost. “If the government feels that yes, we have nothing to do with this coal business then why don’t they straight away take action against the heads of all these districts where the coal has to pass through – against the DCs and SPs of these four-five districts,” he said.
He criticised the Speaker’s decision not to allow debate on the incident, saying the government is denying reality. “This is not the first incident, but every time we raise the issue, the government denies,” Basaiawmoit added.
