Shangla colliers lured to death in the depths

As many as 28 perish in 2024 due to lack of other employment

SHANGLA:

When it comes to feeding hungry mouths back home, breadwinners will go to any lengths to put food on the table, even if it involves braving poisonous gases and toxins hundreds of feet below the earth's surface.

Perhaps that is what draws Shangla district residents to seek jobs as colliers in the mining industry. More often than not, they are lured into death in the depths. For a large part of the district's population, finding a job in the mentioned industry is their only saviour from a life of poverty.

Wherever an accident occurs in any coal pit across the country, it invariably involves workers from this district. In 2024 alone, the number of pit workers who have lost their lives exceeds 28.

The continuous fatalities from mining accidents raise serious concerns for the residents of Shangla, as this trend has persisted for the past five decades without inviting any attention from the quarters concerned.

In Shangla, more than 65 per cent of the population solely depends on mining for a living. Apart from the dearth of schools and hospitals in the area, there is no alternative industry or employment opportunity, leaving the youth with little choice but to find a career in mining.

Shangla, a backward district nestled in the north of K-P province in the Hindukush mountain range, has been synonymous with the mining sector for decades due to the lack of local education and employment opportunities.

One such family, involved in coal mining for generations, shares its heart-wrenching tale with The Express Tribune.

Recently, the family lost two siblings in a coal mine accident which claimed four lives in total.

Yarzada narrated how his grandfather, uncle, and father were pit workers and others followed in their footsteps. Today, as many as 25 members of the family work as colliers.

His father suffered from severe health issues caused by working underground all his youth. The ailments he suffers from include lung, back, and chest diseases, leaving him unable to work at the age of just 42.

Later, Yarzada's elder brother, Yar Yousaf, took over the work and moved to Balochistan's Sharigah area where he lost his life in a mining accident.

Yarzada, now 43, shares how he, his sons, and nephew started working in coal pits in Sindh's Hyderabad district. He described witnessing injuries and recovering bodies of relatives and other Shangla miners during his work in various areas.

Today, his multiple health problems have forced him into retirement in his 40s.

"There is no industry, factory, or alternative employment in Shangla. Many people from the district have lost their lives digging for coal. They are not there by choice," he reveals.

"What else illiterate people would do?" he asks. "For us, mining is the only sector where we can work for higher wages," he adds.

During the meeting with Yarzada, his other colleagues, associated with coal mining, tell their stories, and dread the reality that future generations are bound to face in the mining sector.

"There is no hospital in Shangla to treat locals or colliers injured during accidents. Miners suffer especially from kidney, lung, and other diseases because they often work in hazardous conditions," he notes. The retired collier hopes to live to see the day when the district has the luxury of schools and institutes to teach children useful skills.

"We know that there is water and poisonous gas which can flood the pit within minutes, but still we work there to feed hungry mouths back home," he says.

"Influential people are involved in illegal mining, but the mines and minerals department is paid handsomely to keep its officials silent. They are offered shares in mines so they don't care about the safety of the workers," claims another collier.