Meghalaya Chief Minister Says Illegally Mining Can't Be Stopped Completely

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that without making alternative livelihood for the coal mining workers, it's not possible for the state government to completely stop illegal coal mining and transportation of coal. Rat-hole mining, an extremely unsafe practice in Meghalaya, Assam and other northeastern states, involves digging narrow tunnels, each of which fits only one person to enter and extract coal, benefiting the coal traders. Many workers have got trapped in such illegal and unsafe mines and subsequently died.