To raise issue in Assembly, meet PM, Home Minister
Mail News Service
Jamshedpur/Dhanbad, July 24: Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy has announced that he will raise the issue of the Jamania canal collapse in Baghmara (Dhanbad) during the upcoming monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly. Expressing serious concerns, he said that this was not a mere accident but appeared to be a case of mass murder, alleging that people had been deliberately buried alive under a thick layer of fresh soil.
Roy said he was prepared to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, if necessary, and submit a detailed dossier to demand a thorough investigation. He asserted that the region under BCCL (Bharat Coking Coal Limited) had become a hub for illegal coal mining and trade, facilitated by a nexus between local bullies, officials, and political protectors.
Key allegations raised by Saryu Roy included the NDRF team, deployed in Jamania, was unable to carry out proper rescue work due to lack of support from the local administration, which had failed to provide essential equipment like JCBs and hydras; around 15 individuals were feared to be buried at the site, but no sincere efforts were being made to rescue or recover them. Instead, the site had reportedly been covered with stones, coal, and a fresh layer of soil to hide evidence; journalists and social activists were barred from accessing the site till 2 PM on the day of the incident; a local coal trader named Chauhan had been denied coal loading for a month and was unable to register an FIR, allegedly due to protection extended by Dhanbad Police to mining mafias; workers were being extorted Rs1600 per ton in outsourced mines under the threat of being denied coal; a powerful political figure was allegedly behind the illegal operations, enjoying police protection.
Demands made by Saryu Roy were immediate closure of all inactive or officially closed mines under BCCL; an explanation from the Director General of Mines Safety for not enforcing mine closures; a full audit of coke furnaces in Dhanbad: their coal sources and monthly production figures; direct wage transfers to coal loaders via bank accounts to curb cash-based exploitation; an independent probe into the roles of BCCL management, CISF, Dhanbad Police, and district administration; public disclosure of reports sent by the Special Branch to the police headquarters regarding illegal coal mining and trade in Dhanbad.
Roy concluded that the incident reflected a systemic failure and deliberate cover-up. He vowed to expose the network enabling illegal mining, trade, and the selective enforcement of laws in Dhanbad’s coal belt.
