All Pakistan Labour Federation President Sultan Muhammad Khan Thursday urged upon the need to take more concrete measures by the stakeholders for the safety of lives of coal miners in Balochistan.
Talking to APP, he said around 149 cases of deaths and over 250 injured cases have been reported in coal mines accidents during the current year.
He said in the past year, around 208 death cases were registered officially, whereas 300 coal miners had died in Balochistan in various coal mines incidents.
Khan said lack of any precautionary measures was the main reason behind deaths in miners.
He pinpointed that lack of precautionary measures and essential facilities to the miners were the main reasons behind such accidents.
He emphasised that the government should take the issue more seriously and make efforts to implement Section C-176 of the Labour Law for overcoming coal mine disasters.
He said the govt should also establish housing colonies for the labourers, besides provision of the best contemporary education to their children so that they could achieve a respectable status in the society.
Sultan Khan said the government was collecting alot of revenue from coal mining but the mine labourers were being compensated with mere Rs200,000 of death grant, which the Supreme Court has fixed to Rs500,000 per person along with Rs200,000 for treatment of the mine accident victims.
Sultan said that around 0.3 million coal mine labourers were working in Balochistan without basic health facilities, facing registration issues, and absence of safety standards at their workplaces.
Replying to a question, he said the registration of labourers was a serious issue; thus he urged the government to take steps for early registration of miners working in Balochistan.
He also urged the government should implement occupational safety and health situation (OSHS) to overcome accidents occurred during coal mining.
The mines and minerals sector has witnessed a 56 per cent increase in annual royalty collection during the last financial year, said an official of Balochistan government.
The Balochistan government had established new regional offices of mines and minerals at Muslim Bagh, Harnai, Mach, and Gwadar to ensure good governance and facilitation of the mining companies.
He said the government has also imparted training to over 500 mining workers in the mining sector to overcome the rising disaster and death ratio due to poor working conditions and awareness.
Balochistan government has also established a mining testing laboratory at a cost of Rs182 million which would help in guiding miners in exploration, quality assessment, and improved production, he added.
Furthermore, in order to ensure precautionary steps, the government has closed 321 mines on lacking safety measures and equipment at the workplaces.
He said the amendment in mining rules would be considered after cabinet’s go-ahead for bringing change in the existing rules.
He told the government has collected huge amount from mining sector and deposited in the provincial treasury.
