Guwahati:
As rescuers race against time to save eight trapped workers from a flooded mine in Assam, a two-month-old baby waits for his father to return home safely.
Lijan Magar, 27, spoke to his wife Junu Pradhan just before he went inside the ‘rat hole’ on what seemed like another day for him and several others working at the site. She has not heard from him since.
‘Rat hole’ mining is a dangerous and illegal method in which narrow tunnels are dug leading to deep pits to extract coal, compromising the safety of the workers.
At least eight miners remain trapped in the coal quarry in the Dima Hasao district while the body of a ninth labourer was found by the rescuers two days back.
Read: 3 Days, 8 Trapped Workers, 1 Body: Here’s What’s Hampering Assam Mine Rescue
Their anxious families are now waiting to hear back as the rescue operations entered the fifth day with deep divers from the Armed Forces and disaster response teams working their way inside the mine.
NDTV visited the shanty where Mr Magar’s family lives – where his wife is worried about their child as the fate of the family’s sole breadwinner hangs in balance.
“He spoke to me around 1 pm before going down the rat hole. We don’t know anything else. What will happen to us and our two-month-old child,” Ms Pradhan said.
Junu Pradhan’s father Krishna Pradhan, who was also a labourer in the rat hole mines, is waiting to hear about his son-in-law without any sleep and food.
“I have also worked in coal mines, but now they have dug very deep, so this has happened. My daughter has a child. What will happen to them? The government should do something about it, find him out,” Mr Krishna told NDTV.
Read: “Lay Down, Water Took Me To Safety”: Survivor Of Flooded Assam Mine
He lamented that no one from the administration came to meet the families of the labourers despite top officials and ministers visiting the accident site.
“Several families are waiting here, but neither have we been allowed to go and meet ministers and top officials nor has the government provided any assistance. They did not even come to console us,” Mr Krishna added.
The rescue operation has entered Day 5 since the labourers got trapped in the Kalamati coal mine near Umrango last Monday.
Despite efforts being made on a war footing and the involvement of multiple agencies, murky water inside the flooded mine has posed a challenge to the rescuers. The water level remains constant at 30 metres in the 90-metre-deep mine, making visibility and manoeuvrability difficult for the rescuers.
The hopes now hinge on a heavy-pressure pump flown in from Maharashtra, which can pump out 500 gallons per minute. It is likely to be pressed into service by another day, but time seems to be running out for the trapped workers who haven’t seen the sunlight in over 100 hours.
