RaGa digs at PM Modi over miners stuck in Meghalaya mine

Shillong: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that why the lives of individuals matter so little to the Modi government.

He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not offering the necessary help to rescue a group of miners trapped in a Meghalaya coal mine for the past two weeks.

"15 miners have been struggling for air in a flooded coal mine for two weeks. Meanwhile, PM struts about on Bogibeel Bridge posing for cameras," Gandhi tweeted.

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The miners got trapped in the flooded coal pit in East Jaintia Hills district on December 13. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has been struggling to rescue them but the surging water level inside the 370-feet pit has been hampering the rescue efforts.

"His government refuses to organise high pressure pumps for the rescue and urged PM to save the miners." Gandhi said.

The NDRF has used a sonar system and an underwater camera to detect the trapped miners. However, the system failed to locate any of those trapped in the main well due to poor visibility.

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The incident gains significance, especially after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered an interim ban on "rat-hole" coal mining in the state from April 17, 2014.