People's Democracy

TWO separate incidents on Feburary 2, 2001, have serious bearing on the future of the people of the newely formed Jharkhand state. In one incident central government and in the second incident state government are responsible. Both are BJP-led governments.

On February 2 about noon time 28 workers and two officers were trapped 800 ft deep inside Bagdigi mines when about one million gallons of accumulated water in adjoining Jayrampur colliery broke the barrier, separating the two coal mines, flooding Badigi mines. Till writing this report 17 bodies and one survivor were brought out and the search for the rest are going on. The trapped workers were members of CITU affiliated Bihar Colliery Kamagar Union. The union leaders including its general secretary S K Bakshi are continuously present in the accident area and helping the rescue operation. Coal workers leader Hardhan Roy, CPI(M)’s members of the parliament Basudev Acharya and Bratin Sengupta, CITU Bihar state general secretary Mihir Chowdhury, myself and other visited the mines and disaster areas.

The political leaders of different parties are making beeline to visit the spot. They include newely appointed coal minister and communication minister of the central government. The minister suspended some lower rank officers and shifted the entire blame of disaster on them. Police also filed FIR against them.

Jharkhand’s chief minister Babulal Marandi, however, could not visit the disaster place as he faced angry demonstration on February 3 in Bagdigi colliery.

Next week another coal mine nearby Katragarh area also was flooded in the similar manner and 113 workers somehow could come out from the flooded Chaitudin mine. One worker has been trapped inside.

On close scrutiny the responsibility of coal mine disaster squarely on central government. With the privatisation drive a dismantling policy of the public sector by Atal Behari Vajapyee government the public sector coal companies are seriously affected due to lack of investment and funding. The Coal India Limited has investment for deeper level coal extraction. There is no funding for adequate safety measures. Work force for safety work have been transferred to production. The maintenance staff have also not been given work. Such works are given on contract basis which developed a vested interests.

However, there is a pressure for more production even though there is no planning for production. What infact is going on is what is called slaughter mining. That is why there is no proper mapping of the underground mine areas which made the rescue operation extremely difficult. There is a target of 200 metric tonnes of coal production per shift.

Pressed to fulfil target of coal production, there is large scale slaughter mining. One of these was the immediate cause of Bagdigi coal mine disaster. As per saftey regulations in coal mine there has to be minimum 60 metres of barriers separating two collierie. Jayramour colliery was abandoned where, about 1 million gallons of water remained accumulated in the left coal pit since 1962. The next operational colliery is Bagdigi which is deeper than Jayrampur colliery. As such accumulated water was at the higher level. 60 metre barrier between Jayrampur colliery and Bagdigi was reduced to 5 metres by slaughter mining by the coal management ignoring all safety regulations. Despite this, one week before the disaster, safety week was obsereved and safety inspectors inspected the coal mines and certified Bagdigi as safe coalmine. However, immediately there after water started gushing in the coalmine. It has become a common practice of the management to issue chargesheet to workers who refused to work on saftey ground. Prior to disaster CITU union had complained to the management in writing about the possible danger inside the coal mines. But, coal management ignored the union’s letter.

On the day of disaster at Bagdigi the workers refused to work in the first shift. Therefore in the noon shift 2 managers accompanied them inside the mine. Despite water sippage work was not stopped. The blasting took place in a coal seam inside the mine which caused vibration braking the barrier wall and tonnes of water gushing in almost like a holed overhead tank causing the disaster at Bagdigi.

Another sorry state of affair was that the rescue operation infact started 24 hours late. The collieries were not equipped to meet such disaster without emergency measure.

Three factors combined together were the main causes of Bagdigi disaster. One was the policy of the central governemnt in privatising and dismentling the public sector coal mines and stoppage of funding. There is no investment and planned production of coal. The second reason is the drive to fulfil target imposed by coal ministry. This led to slaughter mining. The third reason, which is connected with the first and the second reasons, is total negligence of safety measures bordering criminality playing with the coal workers lives.

A letter jointly written by P R Singh, Assistant Manager of Bagdigi Colliery who was also trapped inside the mine and laid down his life, alongwith others, reveals the pressure for fulfilling the target and the total absence of saftey regulations in the drive for coal production. The letter was written on January 17 and P R Singh died on February 2. The letter is reproduced below.

About 200 kilometres away on the same day at Tapkara in Ranchi district the police fired and killed eight persons seven of them tribals. Several others were injured. In protest, all opposition parties gave a call for Jharkhand Bandh on February 5. During bandh a CPI(M) procession at Ranchi was lathi charged by police in which several party members were injured including Ranchi district secretary Sudhir Das who was seriously injured in the head. The police filed false FIR against Sudhir Das and other CPI(M) functionaries. Against this lathicharge on CPI(M), all oppostion political parties staged a dharna at Ranchi. The police refused to give permission for Samiyana and even use of loud speakers at dharna place was disallowed. In protest CPI(M)’s Jharkhand state organising committee decided to observe protest day on February 15 through out the state by holding block level demonstrations.

The tribals of Tapkara and other villages are opposing Koel-Karo, hydroelectric project and construction of dam which would inundate 250 tribal villages displacing large number of tribals. The project work is stopped for last several years due the agitation. Yet, police fired and killed several tribals and injured many.

The tribals had put up symbolically barricades against entry of project officials in the project area. For last several years no project officer visited the place. Yet, suddenly police broke the barrier, provoking the tribals to stage dharna in front of the police outpost. Suddenly at 3 pm the police started firing without warning killing and injuring tribals. Babulal Marandi government could not give explanation as to why barrier was broken by the police without having any project work. Why the firing took place without warning and why police fired to kill. A belated explanation was given by the government that the police were searching the extremists in the area. The second explanation was that the tribals were under the influence of wood mafia and the third explanation was that the police were attacked by the tribals and therefore they fired in self defence. But these explanations are contradictory.

This firing reveals the attitude of BJP-led government in the state. Babulal Marandi is the mask of the power grabbers in Jharkhand which include some of the mafia criminals in the ministry. The foreign and Indian monopolies, the landlords and the mafia are out to grab tribal lands. The anti-tribal attitude of BJP-led government in respect of land, language and culture are being exposed daily. Large scale displacements of tribals without rehabilition, compensation and job are the most vital questions on which the future political agenda of Jharkahand will be determined. Tapkara police firing has already brought this agenda in the fore.