Telangana tops list as deaths, mishaps rise in coal mines

HYDERABAD: In what could reflect the poor conditions in its underground mines, Telangana has topped the charts in coal mine mishap deaths in the country.
Coal mines under the control of the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) recorded 37 fatal accidents of miners and 583 serious accidents in the last three-and-a-half years. This is the highest in the country.Of the 188 fatal accidents and 763 serious accidents in the country, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have had the maximum fatalities.

Roof and bunker collapse and rope haulage have been identified as factors which often contribute significantly to fatalities deep inside the mines. Making this announcement in Lok Sabha recently, coal minister Pralhad Joshi said the number of accidents that occurred in coal mines was higher than the number of accidents in non-coal mines since 2017.
SCCL, however, insists that accidents have come down compared to previous years. Agreeing that underground mines were more prone to serious accidents, general manager (coordination and marketing), Ravi Shankar said: “Previously, we used to witness 25-30 fatal mishaps every year. This has decreased now.”
On June 1, four workers were killed in an explosion in an opencast mine in Ramagundam. More recently — September 2 — a miner was killed in an underground mine mishap at Srirampur.
Steps taken to make coal mines safer
Ravi Shankar added opencast mines that operate on daylight need less men. SCCL has so far produced 64.4 million tonnes of coal mined from underground and opencast mines.
The Union minister said underground coal mining was more hazardous. Geo-mining conditions in the underground mine is totally different when compared to noncoal mines and also to opencast mining, he said.
“Non-coal mines are mostly opencast. The volume of production of coal and machinery in underground coal mines is more in comparison to non-coal mines. Risk factor of employees is also more in underground mines,” he said.
Talking about safety measures, Ravi Shankar said they are minimising handloading and using more machines. “Higher capacity machines have also been brought in. We have set up man-riding systems where the miner need not walk. These also help in lowering workers’ fatigue. Resin capsule support is provided to roof walls to avoid their collapse and ensure safety of workers,” he added.
SCCL has around 45,000 employees on its rolls and another 14,000 workers on contract.