Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Operations: What is Rat Hole Mining Technique?

November 28, 2023

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology Indian Economy

Context: Recently, the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel were rescued and rescuers digged through around 10 metres of rubble using rat hole mining technique to bring out the workers.

What is Rat Hole Mining?

Rat-Hole: The term ‘rat-hole’ refers to a narrow pit dug into the ground. These rat holes provide sufficient space for an individual to enter and extract coal. These holes can be dug both vertically and horizontally.
Rat Hole Mining: It is a method of extracting coal from narrow rat holes. Primitive tools like pickaxes, shovels, and baskets are employed for the manual extraction of coal.
Types of Rat Hole Mining: It is broadly of two types side-cutting and box-cutting.
- Side-Cutting Procedure: Narrow tunnels are dug on the hill slopes and workers go inside until they find the coal seam.
- Box-Cutting: A rectangular opening is made, varying from 10 to 100 sqm, and through that a vertical pit is dug, 100 to 400 feet deep.
Ban: The National Green Tribunal banned rat hole mining in 2014 for being unscientific and unsafe.
Prevalent: Generally, this technique is used in Northeastern states of India to extract coal from narrow, horizontal seams. For example, the practice of rat-hole coal mining is still rampant in Meghalaya.

How rat hole mining technique works?

The Uttarakhand Rescue Operation: Part of an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand collapsed, trapping 41 workers inside.
- Rescue operations to pull out the workers were undertaken following the incident to release 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel.
Method: Rat hole miner would enter the rescue pipes and use hand-held tools to dig through the remaining debris blocking the exit to the tunnel.
- Rat hole mining was used after a 25-tonne auger machine failed in the last leg of the challenging operation.

Why is rat hole mining still prevalent in Meghalaya?

Unholy Nexuses: Rat-hole coal mining is continued in Meghalaya owing to an unholy nexus between a section of politicians, bureaucrats and coal barons.
Non- Compliance: According to the report by Justice BP Katakey committee, except for notifying the Meghalaya Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2022, none of the directions issued by the Supreme Court and the NGT had been complied with by the authorities concerned.
Vote Bank Politics: The issue of coal mining is back in the limelight with the election and a Rajya Sabha member from the state is demanding that rat hole mining be legalised.

What are the concerns associated with rat hole mining?

Safety Hazards: Typically lacking regulation, the mines lack essential safety features, such as adequate ventilation, structural support, and proper safety gear for workers. This deficiency has resulted in numerous accidents, causing injuries and fatalities.
- For instance, at least 17 labourers died when the mine they were working in at Ksan got submerged in 2018.
Environmental Hazards: Mining through this process can cause land degradation, deforestation, and water pollution.