HYDERABAD: Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh on Saturday said that a case would be lodged against Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) officials and contractors in the backdrop of the tragic death of five coal mine workers in Lakhra.

The workers had died on May 8 in an explosion in the coal mine.

Mr Shaikh claimed that the workers lost their lives because PMDC contractors extracted coal in a clandestine manner in violation of a restraining order of the Sindh High Court. He was speaking to reporters after offering his condolences to the bereaved families in Manjhand town.

Accompanied by MPA Malik Asad Sikandar, he presented Rs100,000 to each of the affected families.

The minister said that the high court had issued a short order on Dec 20, 2018 in a petition filed by the PMDC and restrained the corporation from extracting coal from the mine in question.

Imtiaz terms mining work in Lakhra violation of court’s stay order

The minister said that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had directed him to meet the families and offer condolences. He said that Mr Shah would also visit them.

The minister said that the provincial labour and energy department would offer assistance to coal mine workers.

He said the Sindh Lakhra Coal Mining Company (SLCMC) was established by the provincial government following passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment and, as such, it had nothing to do with PMDC now. But PMDC moved the high court against the Sindh government, he added. He noted that the court had issued a stay order yet the extraction of coal continued in a clandestine manner.

He held the PMDC contractors concerned equally responsible for the miners’ deaths during coal extraction work.

Mr Shaikh said he had formed a committee comprising senior officers, including the Sindh Coal Authority director general and SLCMC chief executive officer which on Friday visited the Lakhra coal mines. It would submit its report to him in a couple of days, he added.

The energy minister said that a case would also be lodged against PMDC officials and contractors if the bereaved families did not come forward in this regard. He said that FIR would be lodged for illegally running the coal mines in violation of SHC’s stay order in the subject matter. He said that after issuance of the stay order, the district administration was asked by his department to take appropriate action to ensure its compliance.

MPA Malik Asad Sikandar expressed his grief over the tragic incident and said he would approach the Sindh government to seek financial assistance for the bereaved families.

On May 8, five mine workers — Moharram Mureedani, Manthar Mureedani, Gul Hassan Daidano, Allah Bux Daidano and Asghar — were seriously injured in an explosion in the coal mine. Moharram, Allah Bux and Asghar died during treatment at the Liaquat University Hospital, Jamshoro. The body of Gul Hassan Daidano was retrieved 20 hours after the blast. Manthar was shifted to Karachi due to his precarious condition but he also could not survive.

Gul Hassan and Allah Bux were residents of Shahmir Daidano village near Khanote while the other three were residents of Manjhand town.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2019