Another Shangla youth dies in coal mine

SHANGLA:

Another young man from Shangla has lost his life while working in a coal mine, adding to a grim toll that has claimed 83 local miners this year alone.

Hanifullah, son of Momin Khan and a resident of Mian Kalle, Pirabad in Darra Adam Khel, was engaged in labour at a coal mine when the fatal accident occurred.

News of his death plunged the locality into mourning. An announcement for his funeral prayer was made at the mosque in Mian Kalle, Pirabad. Hanifullah's body is the 83rd Shangla miner to die in coal-mine accidents this year and the third such fatality in just the past week.

The relentless sequence of tragedies has once again highlighted serious concerns about miners' safety, the scarcity of alternative employment, and the deep economic deprivation gripping Shangla. Young men who leave home in search of work continue to return in coffins, turning hope into permanent grief for their families. Parents send their sons away with dreams of a better future, only to see those hopes shattered by accidents in hazardous mines.

According to Abid Yar, an official of a non-governmental organisation advocating for the rights of mine workers, more than 83 Shangla miners have already perished in various accidents this year, while hundreds more have been injured. These figures underscore the urgent need for effective protective measures. Each death not only deprives a family of its breadwinner but also places the education, healthcare and daily expenses of remaining members under severe strain.

Shangla's economic landscape offers few local opportunities. The absence of large factories, industrial units and significant commercial activity forces a large number of young people to seek work in other districts and provinces. Many end up in coal mines, where hard labour is matched by constant danger. Available information indicates that nearly 66 per cent of Shangla's population depends, directly or indirectly, on mining for its livelihood. Such heavy reliance ties the district's economy to an inherently risky occupation in which a single accident can wipe out a household's income and plunge it into lasting hardship.