July 16 was a usual day of ongoing sweltering summer. The air was still as the hot sun blazed across the jagged peaks of the Salt Range, which Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has described as “an open book of geology”.

On that stifling noon, there was an unusual group of people in the thick jungle sprawling on both sides of the winding road, which connects two little hamlets of Chandu and Saghral in Chakwal’s tehsil Choa Saidan Shah. One of these rocky trails led to a fateful coal mine which collapsed six days ago, burying three miners and a son of the mine owner.

After much struggle, the five dozen labourers who came from different mines managed to recover the body of the last miner; however, the putrid stench pushed the crowd standing at the entrance of the mine scurrying. The labourers quickly covered the body with a plastic sheet to stop the smell but the caved-in mine continued to spew this foul smell even after the dead body was moved to a nearby Dera Rajgan village.

Five days ago, this village had received the bodies of two miners whose funeral prayers were attended by the villagers. This time, it was 34-year-old Anwar Hussain, who left behind his wife and a year-old son. All the deceased were the sole breadwinners of their families.

On July 10, the mine they were working in collapsed due to rainwater, said Mines and Minerals Department Punjab Inspector Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf, present at the accident site. A rescue official revealed that the length of the mine was 400 feet while 80 feet of its portion collapsed.

“Every mine must have two entries, proper ventilation and a wooden bed but this mine did not have the second entry and was also close to the water passage. We have sealed the mine and an inquiry has been initiated,” Mr Ashraf maintained.

The labourers Safeer Hussain, 35, Adnan Ashraf, 25, and Anwar Hussain were working inside the mine when Ibrahim Hussain, 30, son of the mine owner Munawar Hussain, arrived in a hurry to tell them about the water entering the mine. But within moments, the mine collapsed, burying the visitor along with the workers.

According to the data shared by the Punjab Mines and Minerals Department, 868 persons have died in mining accidents from 2010 to till date, which means that 63-64 people lose their lives annually in the Salt Range mines. Many of these deaths could have been averted with adequate safety measures, but due to the apathy of the officials concerned, the death toll continues to balloon with every accident. In this case too, help arrived late. The mine collapsed at 11am whereas a generator to remove water from the flooded mine arrived at 10pm, eleven hours after the accident. The body of Safeer Hussain was recovered after twelve hours while the bodies of Adnan and Ibrahim were taken out the next day. However, it took six days to retrieve the body of Anwar Hussain.

Hundreds of coal mines in the Salt Range employ 42,000 people and produce an estimated 700,000 tonnes of coal annually. The current price per tonne of coal is Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 but still workers are not afforded any protection. The miners, on the other hand, earn only a few hundred for a day’s work in a perpetual state of fear.

The 100-year-old law, The Mines Act 1923, does offer some protection to workers but on the ground, the situation remains precarious. The law clearly states that a miner is entitled to a weekly off as well as paid casual and sick leaves, free medical treatment, and education for children. These facilities only exist on paper, however.

“There is no off day for us as we work seven days a week. If we do not go to work due to sickness or any other reason, our salary is docked,” a group of four miners from Azad Kashmir told Dawn. Most of these mines employ people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir, who live in the mountains covered with dense forests.

A miner who has been working here for the past 15 years said that they started working at 5am daily and a miner could only extract a tonne of coal in a day, for which they get Rs1400. The extracted coal is then brought to Choa Saidan Shah where it is transported to other areas of the country. One truck contains about 10 tonnes of coal and is sold from Rs150,000 to Rs200,000.

According to the mines law, every lease owner is responsible for the registration of employees with the Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) but a majority of miners have not been registered with EOBI. Similarly, in case of accidental death, a miner receives a pittance of Rs1,100,000 as compensation from the mines department and the mine owner. But this amount is not enough to take care of their families. For instance, Adnan left behind five minor kids, with the oldest aged seven.

“How on earth can you raise five children with Rs1,100,000,” questioned Kamran, the younger brother of Adnan. “We are hopeless as no action would be taken for our betterment as we are nothing but the wretched of the earth,” lamented another miner as the one next to him sighed about their ordeal in the ‘pardes’ (alien land).

Talking to Dawn, Mines Inspector Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf said that a junior inspector was suspended after the July 10 incident. “We are doing our best for the safety and welfare of the miners,” he maintained.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024