Do you know rat-hole mining, being used to rescue trapped Uttarkashi tunnel workers, is banned in Meghalaya?

Rat-hole mining experts were now called in to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel after high-tech auger machine broke down during the long-drawn operation.

Twelve rat-hole mining experts began manual drilling on Monday through the rubble and the diggers are now metres away from the workers who have been struck inside the tunnel for 17 days. Simultaneously, vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 36 metres out of the 86 metres needed.

What Is Rat-Hole Mining?

Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners (often children) go down narrow tunnels (usually 3-4 feet wide) to excavate coal.

The practice was prevalent in Meghalaya because of the difficult terrain and the extremely thin coal seam in the state.

Once the miners reach the coal seam, they use hand-held tools to make tunnels to extract the coal and the coal brought out is dumped nearby. As the size of the tunnels is very small, children become the best fit for the risky job.

With limited options for livelihood, many line up for the hazardous job. Several children also pose as adults to work in such mines.

Why is Rat-Hole Mining banned?

The National Green Tribunal in 2014 banned the practice in Meghalaya owing to the rise in deaths and other tragedies.

“It is also informed that there are umpteen number of cases where by virtue of rat-hole mining, during the rainy season, water flooded into the mining areas resulting in death of many… individuals including employees/workers,” the NGT had observed.

In 2018, 15 men involved in illegal mining were trapped inside a flooded mine, where only two bodies could be recovered in the rescue operation that lasted for more than two months. In another such accident, five miners were trapped in a flooded mine in 2021 and only three bodies were found before rescue teams called off the operation after a month.