The rescue team on Monday did not recover more bodies from the coal heap of Kulda open cast mines in Sundargarh district. "We had made a list of missing persons from nearby villages and four among them are still untraceable," said ADM (Sundargarh) RabindraMishra. They have been identified as SurekhaNaik, MamataMajhi, Tilu Sane and SebatiDhandi, all residents of Balinga village, he added.
Locals claimed some drivers of dumpers and tippers, who were taking bath at the spot, could be buried in the coal heap. "We will continue the search operation till all the missing persons are found," said general manager of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (Basundhara coal mines) A K Singh. Ten bodies have been pulled out of the coal heaps in the last two days.
Seven bodies, however, had to be brought back to the district headquarters hospital morgue after villagers refused to cremate them, demanding Rs 25 lakh compensation and action against officials of MCL.
Sources said among the 10 bodies, eight were identified and handed over to their families on Saturday. While the victim of Kurla village was cremated, families of the other seven, belonging to Balinga village, staged a protest at Balinga police outpost. They also lodged an FIR against MCL officials, holding them responsible for the incident and demanded Rs 25 lakh compensation and jobs for the displaced.
Some villagers lead by Sundargarh Sadar MLA Jogesh Singh barged into the MCL office and forced the employees to stop all work. The production and coal dispatches at Basundhara coal mines had come to a halt after the incident on Saturday. Former BJP state president Jual Oram along with some villagers also staged a demonstration and blocked the road in front of Balinga police outpost, pressing for the demands of the locals.
"Since the administration was not in a position to fulfil their demands immediately, they left the bodies at the police outpost. We had no option but to bring them back to the morgue," the ADM said.
Tuesday 13 August 2013
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Four-still-missing-at-Kulda-open-cast-mines/articleshow/21791910.cms
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