ALPURI: Two miners hailing from Shangla were killed and another sustained injuries in separate incidents of coalmine collapse in Sindh and Punjab provinces on Monday.
The first incident occurred in Hyderabad, Sindh, where the roof of Lakhra Hyderabad Coalmine No. 10 collapsed during work. As a result, coalminer Mukhtar Ali, a resident of Choga Kozpao of Puran tehsil in Shangla, killed.
The second incident took place in Punjab’s Chuha Saidan Shah area, where the haulage rope snapped inside coalmine No. 4 being run by the Asan Coal Company.In this incident, two miners identified as Muhammad Rehman, a resident of Puran, fell and killed while his companion Awaz Gul was injured.
A number of workers from Shangla have lost lives in the fatal coalmine collapse and other related incidents.Families in Shangla send their loved ones to work in coalmines in other parts of the country. The primary reasons are a lack of job opportunities in Shangla, absence of industries, and limited access to education.
More than 65 percent of Shangla’s population depends on mining for survival. Yet, there are no basic facilities for miners or their families in the district. Thousands of miners who become disabled in mining accidents now live in extreme poverty with no system in place for their support.Neither the government nor any institution has taken effective steps for their welfare.
A major problem is that most miners from Shangla are not registered with EOBI (Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution) or with their respective companies. For this non-registration, miners are deprived of basic rights and are not entitled to pensions or benefits.
Local intermediaries collude with managers, contractors, and mine owners, avoiding proper attendance records and registration of workers because it reduces their own financial gain.
Injured miners and disabled workers from Shangla want immediate action for their welfare, including monthly stipends, pensions, medical treatment, and special education facilities for their children.They say that unless practical steps are taken, the cycle of suffering would continue through generations in remote and underdeveloped areas like Shangla.
