Rat miners create Miracle

When heavy machinery broke down trying to break through the debris trapping 41 workers in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, authorities called in a group of people whose profession is effectively banned in the country - "rat-hole mining".

Rat miners as professionals and rat mining as a profession gained public currency in the last three days as no other in the history of hands-on expertise in this country. It was at the center of one of the biggest, longest and most complex rescue operations this country has ever seen.

The miners, who are typically employed in illegal coal mines, are so named because of their ability to squeeze into tight spaces like rats. They are skilled at using simple tools like hammers and pickaxes to break through rocks and earth. In the case of the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse, the rat miners were able to use their skills to create a narrow passageway that was just large enough for the trapped workers to crawl through.

The rescue operation was a complex and dangerous one, but the rat miners were able to complete it successfully, thanks to their experience and expertise. Their bravery and dedication saved the lives of 41 people and made them national heroes.

Such a professional fraternity could have been used in emergencies, at a time tunnelling was happening in a big way, risks known, talks of the mindset of crisis situation handling in this country. The fact of the matter is that it is banned for the nature of hazard it poses to human life.

Rat miners made the tunnel rescue happen where 41 laborers were trapped for 17 days. With hiccups after hiccups and strategy changing given the exigencies of the situation and limits to which technology and available expertise could deliver, the rat miners did when and where it mattered the most.

The last mile. It was a time no other tech solution was expected to give sure-shot results. Manual with gadgets and tools most simple, if not crude,

delivered what they did, out of human expertise, perfected over time, grit, perseverance and hardship which we find so difficult to imagine.

What the country owes to them, neither the country knows nor do they. Radically different from their superb expertise, work culture, never say never die, and finding a sense of fulfilment in life, we have different varieties of rat miners in this country. Only work should speak!

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA