Scandalous
record
Yet another
tragedy struck coalminers in Balochistan on July 14, 2019, this time in the
Degari field. A short circuit sparked a blaze in a coalmine in which 11 miners
were working underground at the time at a depth of about 1,200 metres. As often
happens in such accidents, the mineshaft filled with toxic gases such as carbon
monoxide and methane, leading to the deaths of nine miners underground. Rescue
operations were reportedly hampered for two days because of the presence of
these toxic gases, which leads to the question why neither the mines nor the
rescue teams had any gas masks and other equipment to be able to save lives. Of
the two survivors pulled out injured but alive, one died while being treated at
the Civil Hospital Quetta where the bodies and injured were transferred, while
the other is said to be critical. It stands to reason that if the miners were
trapped underground for two days in the presence of toxic gases, their deaths
could be foretold. The bodies were handed over to their families who, as it
transpired, were all Afghans and hence the bodies would be buried in
Afghanistan. Following the tragedy, mine workers staged a protest demanding the
arrest of people responsible for failing to make safety arrangements in the
mines. As has become a ritual after such tragedies, Chief Minister Balochistan
Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, provincial Mines and Minerals Secretary Zahid Saleem and
the provincial Director General Disaster Management Agency issued the routine
expressions of grief and sorrow, announced inquiries into the tragedy, vowed
not to spare those responsible and offered compensation to the families of the
deceased. But this ritual lip service after such accidents is no longer enough.
According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation, 100-200 miners are
killed in accidents throughout the country every year. The fact that this has
been going on for years without any attempt at redress is nothing short of
scandalous neglect.
The conditions
of work and the hazards involved in pit mining of coal, the prevalent method in
most coalmines all over the country, appear in sharp contrast with the Thar
coalfields being developed by one of the largest companies in the field in
Pakistan. The availability of capital, modern machinery and other arrangements
has opened the door to local employment in this project, including the women of
the area. Admittedly the Thar coalfields project involves open pit mining that
does not require the presence of miners underground, which is the prevalent system
in most if not all the other coalfields in Pakistan. The coalfields in
Balochistan located in the Harnai, Dukki, Mach and Sowrange areas are notorious
as ‘death traps’ for those who work in them. The labour for this hazardous work
comes overwhelmingly from the Pashtun community locally as well as from Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and now, as we have learnt in this tragedy, even from amongst
Afghan refugees here. Despite the track record of frequent accidents and deaths
in the coalmines, no effective steps have been taken to date to ensure loss of
life is prevented. Surely, safety measures for coalmines is not rocket science.
If our authorities lack the expertise, it can be obtained on a humanitarian
basis from international sources. Since the miners, particularly in
Balochistan, tend to be migrant workers, their conditions of life and work have
failed to find voice or resonance in an effective manner. After this latest
tragedy, the need for safety and welfare measures for those who toil in the
bowels of the earth at risk of life and limb cannot be brushed aside any
longer. And while we are at it, spare a thought for healthcare and rescue
arrangements at or near the mines as an indispensable humanitarian need.
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