Its been over a month and those miners are still trapped in those mines in Meghalaya. Media is not even reporting this anymore, but why? They can report death of Sridevi – 24 hours a day for several weeks. They can report Rafale Deal without even having any papers or evidence for months. But our fellow citizens are trapped inside a mine in Meghalaya, that is not being followed. It was a passing news last month and since then the media has become silent on this matter as if they have been rescued and are now living happily in their respective homes.
Media should remember that they are for the betterment of the citizens of India and not for entertainment of this country. For that there are other channels. They should report stuff that needs our attention – Taimur waving for the first time is not what media should report. Our fellow citizens’ lives are in danger – it needs media attention & help.
Updated Status:
Exactly a month after 15 miners were trapped in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, chances of their rescue continue to remain bleak as dewatering the mine has been a futile effort.
Scientists and agencies reputed for their rescue work in underground mines on Sunday arrived to step up efforts to rescue the miners in what is perhaps the country’s longest rescue mission.
Operation spokesperson R. Susngi said that a team headed by a scientist and comprising experts from Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (NGIR-CSIR) and Gravity and Magnetic Group, was at the spot. Besides, a team each from the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Chennai-based Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) have arrived to step up the mission, he said.
Till date, the dewatering of the 370-foot-deep mine where the miners are trapped has proved futile as over 1 crore litres of water has been pumped out of the main shaft in the past one month, but there has been no visible change in the water level, the official said.
Another 2 crore plus litres of water was pumped out from nearby abandoned mines suspected to be connected to the mine where the miners are trapped, but rescuers are clueless how water is entering the mine, he said. In the Khloo-Ryngksan area, where the ill-fated mine is located at the western side of a small hillock, the Lytein river crisscrosses the valley for over 2 km.
Expert help has been sough since December 20, but the high water-level inside the mine has foiled all efforts. Susngi said senior scientist of CSIR-NGRI Devashish Kumar and his team have arrived for the operation. Another scientist from the Gravity and Magnetic Group, Niraj Kumar and his team too arrived as have Jayanti Gogoi of GPR and Vineet Upadhyay, who is heading the team of operators of the ROV from Chennai.
A team from Pune-based KSB has also arrived at the site and work is in progress to install another high power pump at the site, he said. The teams have been joined by about 200 people from different agencies of the Government of India, including Indian Navy and NDRF, besides Coal India Ltd and Kirloskar Brothers Ltd.
The Supreme Court which is monitoring the rescue efforts has directed the authorities to step up their efforts and bring out the miners ‘dead or alive’.
I pray for all those men trapped in mines and wish that this rescue operation to successfully end soon.
I also wish the media to focus attention on pressing issues like these rather than striving to become a gossip and entertainment hub.
Feeling very sad.
