Meghalaya Miners

The death toll in the coal mine blast in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district has climbed to 30, with two more persons succumbing to injuries at a hospital here, an official said on Tuesday. Both were residents of Katigorah in Assam's Cachar district and were undergoing treatment at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH). "Two persons injured in the coal mine blast died at the SMCH hospital on Monday night. They have been identified as Ramchandra Baishnab and Nimaruddin," the health department official said. Altogether, nine injured miners were admitted to the SMCH after the February 5 incident. The blast had occurred at an illegally operated coal mine in the remote Thangsku area of Mynsngat village in adjoining Meghalaya. The Meghalaya government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident to ascertain the circumstances leading to the blast and fix responsibility. The Assam government had announced ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased from the

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday said his government would take stringent action against those responsible for the East Jaintia Hills coal mine blast in which at least 18 people were killed. He also deputed two cabinet ministers to assess the situation on the ground. The chief minister said the ministers have been asked to visit the spot, meet officials and take stock of the rescue, relief and law and order situation. Senior police officers, including the Inspector General of Police of the range, and officials of the mining department are already present at the site, he said. Sangma said the police have been instructed to take strict action against those responsible for the incident and warned that illegal mining activities would not be tolerated. With the start of scientific mining, miners are expected to apply for legal mining licences, he said, adding that the option is now available and such incidents cannot be allowed to happen. The chief minister announced

At least 16 labourers were killed, and several others feared trapped following an explosion at an "illegal" coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district on Thursday, Director General of Police I Nongrang said. Rescue teams have been engaged in search operations, she said, adding that the incident occurred in the Thangsku area in the morning. "We have recovered 16 bodies so far. The exact number of labourers present inside the mine at the time of the explosion is yet to be ascertained. More people are feared trapped," she said. One person who sustained injuries in the blast was initially taken to Sutnga Primary Health Centre before being referred to a Shillong hospital for better treatment, East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar said. The explosion is suspected to have occurred during coal mining activities at the site, which is believed to be an illegal operation. Asked whether the mine was operating illegally, Kumar said, "Yes, it seems like that." He s

A honeymoon murder, rise of a regional party, infrastructural push and crackdown on illegal coal extraction dominated headlines in Meghalaya this year. The killing of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi allegedly by his wife and others grabbed national attention, with the police arresting multiple accused and filing a detailed charge sheet. The case fed into wider debates on policing capacity and the handling of high-visibility investigations. Meghalaya Police stated it was among the most resource-intensive probes in recent years, citing financial tracking and interstate coordination with agencies in Madhya Pradesh. Political currents shifted in tandem. The Voice of the People Party (VPP), which secured its maiden Lok Sabha win in 2024 by unseating three-term Congress MP Vincent H Pala in Shillong, consolidated its standing by sweeping the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council polls and forming the executive committee early this year. The outcome signalled a break from ...

As the Meghalaya High Court pulled up the state government over the disappearance of over 4,000 tonnes of coal, a minister on Monday claimed that heavy rain in the state might have washed it away. The high court has directed the state government to take action against officials under whose watch the coal went missing. Speaking to reporters, Excise Minister Kyrmen Shylla said, "Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall. You never know... because of rain, the coal might have swept away. Chances are very high." The high court had on July 25 pulled up the state government over the vanishing of coal from Rajaju and Diengngan villages and instructed it to trace those responsible for lifting the coal illegally. The minister, however, clarified that he was not trying to justify the disappearance, and admitted there was no conclusive evidence yet to determine whether the loss was due to natural causes or any illegal activity. "I cannot blame just the rain. It could be or it could not be. I .

The Meghalaya HC noted that the missing stock of 4,000 MT coal had earlier been surveyed and recorded, yet 'unidentified persons' managed to lift and move it, exposing failures in ground-level enforce

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said eleven more miners are all set to get the mining opening permission for starting scientific mining of coal in the state soon. As of now three miners have started extracting coal using scientific mining methods as prescribed by the Central authorities and they are dealing with issues of safe transportation, he said on Tuesday. "Mining of coal by three (3) miners in the state has started in a scientific manner after the Coal Ministry was satisfied with the work of extracting coal," said Sangma. Sangma said that as per the latest information, 11 more miners are awaiting permission from the Ministry to extract coal in the state. "I don't have the exact number but in 1-2 months, another 10-11 miners mostly from East Jaintia Hills and West Khasi Hills will be getting the permission to extract coal in a scientific manner," he said. On March 17, 2025, after more than decades, mining in Meghalaya was re-opened in East Jaintia Hills. The chief

Five of the deceased have been identified, the official said, adding, most of them are from neighbouring Assam.

Several anti-mining and pro-environment groups have expressed strong opposition against the expansion of the mining project

Nearly 200 rescue personnel from the NDRF, the Indian Navy, Odisha Fire Service and state agencies are involved in the search-and-rescue operation

Labourers have been trapped deep inside a rathole coal mine for more than a month. The state has been caught in a resource curse for decades.

The court is hearing a public interest litigation filed by Prasad, who sought urgent steps to rescue the 15 miners trapped in the mine since December 13

The state government has given the order of suspending the operation to pull out the body of the miner as it is becoming an impossible task, says Meghalaya CM

On December 13, water from nearby Lytein River flooded a network of tunnels in the 370-foot-deep coal mine in Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills, trapping 15 men

The bench issued notice to the Meghalaya Government, the Centre and others seeking their response on various issues connected with coal mining in the state and posted the matter for hearing Feb 19

Around 77,081 cases of illegal mining reported in April- December 2017

The National Green Tribunal has imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore on the Meghalaya government for its failure to curb illegal mining in the state

The state government has spent roughly over Rs 50 lakh for hiring various utilities to rescue the trapped miners

The court said the report should be filed on January 7

The 15 miners trapped in the illegal shaft in the East Jaintia Hills sadly attest to the fact that little has changed on the ground