Kerala - Kochi   

Unscientific mining led to quarry accident: report

KOCHI: The accident at the stone quarry at Kuzhoor near Irapuram that claimed the lives of five workers on Saturday was a self-imposed disaster. This was one of the main findings of the inquiry conducted by District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, who submitted the report to the government on Wednesday.

Explaining the important points of his report to presspersons, Mr. Hanish attributed the accident to unscientific methods followed at the quarry. The soil excavated from the quarry from time to time was deposited on boulders atop the quarry. From there the soil had also percolated into the crevices between the boulders over the period, the Collector said.

The workers without realising that they were at the end of the pile of boulders triggered a blast at the bottom. As a result, the entire heap of soil slipped down due to the pressure and vibration caused by the blast, thus burying the workers beneath.

Throwing light on the factors that led to the tragedy, the Collector said that no one with scientific knowledge was present at the quarry at the time of the blast. There was none with the ‘blast man’ certification for triggering the blast, he said.

Instead of the step-by-step method to be followed in cutting stones a vertical 90-degree cut was followed at the quarry. The periodical inspection by the Department of Geology was also not done.

Whether explosive materials in excess of the permissible limit were stored at the storage area of the quarry remained unverified.

Despite being a highly hazardous work, even the basic safety measures were missing at the quarry concerned. Strangely, the quarry had the requisite permits from the Mining and Geology Department, Controller of Explosives and the panchayat. This, he said, might have happened owing to the absence of periodical inspections since the granting of licence. He wondered how worse might be the conditions at the innumerable stone quarries operating without proper licence.

The Collector recommended closure of all such quarries found to be flouting the regulations. Frequent inspections by the police at the quarries to check whether explosive materials beyond the permissible level were being stocked were also suggested.

This was important, as there were possibilities of unscrupulous elements misusing the explosives for nefarious activities, the Collector said. Periodical inspection by the Mining and Geology Department was necessary. If needed, the service of tahsildars concerned would be extended for this purpose, he said. “As of now the number of workers in the quarries is unknown. Therefore a suggestion has been made directing the Labour Department to include all the quarry workers in the muster roll and to bring them under welfare schemes,” the Collector said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission Justice N. Dhinakar visited the site of the quarry accident. He asked for reports from the Collector, geologist and the Pollution Control Board after suspecting some violations of safety aspects.

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