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'They don't want to save anybody'

Rifat Jawaid in Dhanbad

Salim Ansari's escape from death has given the families of the trapped 25 miners at Dhanbad's Bagdigi colliery fresh hope.

Hope notwithstanding, the anxious group fears the miners could die because of the tardy rescue operation.

Thirteen-year-old Mohammad Sabir finds it difficult to witness his family's plight. His father Abdul Hamid is one of the miners trapped in the flooding at Bagdigi colliery. Unable to bear the scenes of his weeping mother and fours sisters, Sabir spends his days and nights near the pithead. A student of class VIII at the Jeetpur Academy, he blames Bharat Coking Coal Limited officials for their refusal to heed his father's repeated warnings about the deteriorating safety at the colliery.

Says Sabir: "Kitne dino se woh keh rahe the ki chanak mein ek din koi badi durgatna ho jayegi, lekin saab ne unko suna hi nahin (He warned of a possible disaster at the mine for a long time, but his bosses did not heed him). Fearing the BCCL management's apathy could one day endanger his life, Hamid made up his mind to go on long leave.

"On the day the flooding occurred, Abbu had gone to get his leave application approved. But his officers insisted that he accompany other miners to the colliery," Sabir recalls.

According to the teenager, Hamid often discussed the regular seepage of water from the adjacent reservoir to the colliery with his mother.

"Jaldi mein Abbu ne us roz teek se nashta bhi nahin khaya tha (Father did not eat a full breakfast that day because he wanted to meet the officers). When my sisters insisted he eat his meal before leaving home, he promised he would be back for lunch. I only pray to Allah that the incomplete breakfast is not his last meal," Sabir adds, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Asked about his week-long absence from school, Sabir replies, "Jab mera baap maut ke mooh me hain, to padhai kaise hogi bhaiya? (How do you expect me to concentrate on my studies when my father is fighting battle with death)?"

Anil Singh has been camping with Sabir in anticipation of greeting his brother P R Singh if he is rescued. Anil is unwilling to buy the BCCL officials's theory that the likelihood of survival has faded for the miners with the discovery of all the air pockets inside the colliery. He feels the rescue team was unable to reach the last pocket due to "their insincere approach to the operation."

Anil says Ansari's miraculous escape strengthened his belief that his brother too must be crying out for help inside the mines. "Asha par hi to hum log bagair khaye piye yahan par ek hafta baithe hain (Only hope has enabled us to sit here without food and water for almost a week). I fear the rescue team's disinterest in tracing our dear ones will surely ensure my brother's death. They don't want to save anybody."

"Many pumps have stopped functioning since Thursday. Even the motor brought from Orissa is lying unused at Bagdigi pit. They (the BCCL officers) say the electricity available in the mine is not enough to operate the motor. Today, we have been told the lone cable had developed a snag. This is nothing but a cover-up," he alleges.

Anil says his four-year-old niece keeps asking about her father. "Everytime we go home, the little girl asks 'Papa kab ayenge? Kya woh mujhse naraaz hain? (When will papa return? Is he angry with me?" he adds in a choked voice.

Among the weeping relatives is Radha Shyam who reached Dhanbad a day after the deluge trapped the miners. A resident of Khushinagar in Uttar Pradesh he last met his brother-in-law Swaminath on January 26.

"The news about Swami has devastated all of us," he says, "especially my sister who has been fainting continuously. Babu, meri sirf ek behen hain aur uska vivah maine bahut chah se kiya tha. Bhagwan na kare agar mere behnoi ko kuch ho gaya to meri behen to jeeteji mar jayegi (I have only one sister whom I married off with fanfare. God forbid, if something happens to my brother-in-law, my sister will have a living death)."

The anguish and tears have little impact on BCCL officers. Some senior BCCL officials occasionally visit the pit on the pretext of setting right technical faults. None of them appear to have a clue about the fate of the 25 miners trapped inside the colliery.

Executive director (safety and rescue) K N Singh denies the charge that the rescue operation is indifferent and inept. However, he has no answer why Hamid's warnings were not given due consideration. On all the charges, Singh has a standard reply: "Yeh sab jhoot hain, aisa kuch bhi nahin hain (These are all lies, nothing of this sort has ever happened).''

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