Jamshedpur, May 30: A two-member team from the directorate general of mines safety's regional office in Chaibasa today began a probe into the circumstances that led to the underground wall cave-in at Uranium Corporation of India Ltd's Turamdih mines on Saturday, killing three miners, amid allegations that the management overlooked safety concerns for months to meet daily production targets.
P. Ranganatheswar, deputy director of directorate general of mines safety, Dhanbad, said the probe team, led by Ashish Kumar, the director of mines safety in Chaibasa, West Singhbhum, started to speak to officials and workers posted at Turamdih mines, East Singhbhum, and physically verify the mishap site.
"After the probe is over, the team will submit a report to us. If there is any negligence on the part of Turamdih mines management, we will take necessary action against those found guilty," Ranganatheswar said.
"Till then, all uranium mining operations at Turamdih will be stopped," he said. Asked for how long, he said a probe into a mishap was a long process and it would take time.
But, blaming the UCIL management for laxity in maintaining the two-acre mines for months, a Turamdih insider alleged that the corporation was more concerned about the ore output.
Not wanting to be named, the UCIL employee told The Telegraph that the management did not pay heed to miners complaining about the fault zone at level 7, 255 metres below ground-level, where the collapse occurred.
"The management was set on meeting a production target of 1,000 tonnes ores per day since past four months, and in the process, regular cleaning work got compromised. Accumulation of debris, including sludge, might have weakened the wall," the employee said.
"Officials who went inside the mines to supervise work were concerned only with the production target and ignored the dangerous condition of the mines even though junior staff repeatedly pointed out the hazards," he added.
Strongly denying these allegations, Turamdih manager of mines safety, G.C. Nayak, claimed there was no negligence in respect to mine safety.
"Mining work in all UCIL mines is done in the safest manner. We pay heed to every small factor that may cause any mishap. But still the unfortunate mishap took place. We are ready to honour any action by the directorate general of mines safety," said the mines safety manager.
UCIL safety officer Surya Kant Singh and general foreman Milan Karmakar, as well as contract worker Sonaram Kisku lost their lives when sludge flooded level 7, 255 metres underground in Turamdih mines, around 11am on Saturday. Karmakar, swiftly rushed to Tata Main Hospital with nine other injured miners, was declared brought dead on Saturday afternoon, while the bodies of Kisku and Singh were recovered from the rubble on Saturday night and Sunday early morning.
