The rat-hole coal mine blowout in Ruchan village under Bhandari sub-division in Wokha, which killed 6 mine workers and injured 4 others was caused by an exposure to underground methane reserves, a report issued today by Nagaland government’s Geology and Mining department reveals.
According to the report, the explosion in the 400-feet deep mine, which is 4.5 feet wide with a height of 4 feet, was caused by frictional sparks from the portable handheld rock-breaker machine which came into contact with underground reserves of methane gas, resulting in the explosion. The report stated that in order to mitigate illegal coal mining in the state, the department is willing to assist miners with the science of mining to avoid any fatal incidents in the future.
A district official from the Geology and Mining department who was part of the inspection team told EastMojo that the mine is illegal as the owners Tsenchamo Mozhui and Moyinthung Tungoe, who leased it to Azgur Ali and Saiful Ali from neighboring Assam, did not hold a mining permit issued by the department.
“We had warned the illegal coal miners in the district about such consequences before but some are unwilling to listen” he added. According to a study from 2022, 23 such explosions due to Methane have been recorded in India which lead to mining disasters.
The 492.68 million ton strong coal reserves in the state primarily lie in the foothill belt of the Nagaland-Assam border, popularly known as the Disturbed Area Belt (DAB).
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The state’s Coal Policy of 2014 takes note of the practice of rampant illegal coal mining and tries to battle it out by issuing Small Pocket Deposit Licenses to individual landowners. However, illegal coal mining activities near Assam Nagaland border is being done with the help of investors from Assam and the land typically belongs to a Naga collaborator. Nagaland under Article 371(A) of the Indian Constitution is entitled to its customary land holding system in which land is held by an individual or a community at large.
The two owners of the mine, Tsenchamo Mozhui and Moyinthung Tungoe, have been lodged in the Wokha District Jail according to the Additional Superintendent of Police, K Soriso while Azgur Ali and Saiful Ali from Assam are still evading arrest.
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