GUWAHATI, Jan 19: Assam DGP GP Singh today said Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed him to close down all rat-hole coal mines in the State in seven days while the crackdown has already begun in the ground with the arrest of 11 people in Umrangso.
GP Singh, who is touring eastern Assam districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, said he has already held a meeting with senior police officers and has taken a first hand report from them on the coal mines operating in Ledo, Margherita and Lekhapani.
“Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma had told me that it has come to his knowledge that rat-hole mining is taking place in certain areas in Ledo, Margherita and Lekhapani. He directed me to take steps so that no illegal mining takes place anywhere in Assam and also to ensure that rat-hole mining, wherever it is continuing, should be closed down within 7 days,” DGP Singh said.
“We visited certain areas yesterday and have issued directives to authorities concerned to ensure that concrete action to close down illegal rat-hole mines are taken within a week’s time,” he further stated.
“Two such mines which are currently operating within the lease area of North East Coal Fields have been identified and have been closed down. Action has also been taken in Umrangso and although no functional rat-hole mines have been found, directive have been issued to seal the abandoned mines,” he added.
Meanwhile, 11 persons have been arrested by Dima Hasao Police till today in connection with illegal coal mining at Assam coal quarry in Umrangso.
Police have also launched an inquiry into incidents of unreported deaths of miners in Umrangso and have confirmed at least two deaths, one in December last year and another in 2023, with the owners compensating victim families with cash and thus preventing them from getting reported.
