Chasnala Mining Disaster - [December 27, 1975] This Day in History

27 December 1975

The Chasnala Mining Disaster

What happened?

On 27 December 1975, an explosion and consequent flooding in the Chasnala mine near Dhanbad, Jharkhand left 372 people dead, making it one of the worst mining disasters in the country.

Background

• On 27 December 1975, there was an explosion in the Chasnala colliery, which is situated 20 km from Dhanbad in present-day Jharkhand.
• The explosion was probably caused by sparks from mining apparatus that ignited some flammable methane gas.
• The severe explosion led to the mine collapsing as a result of which millions of gallons of water from a reservoir in the vicinity were flown into the mine at a staggering rate of 7 million gallons per minute.
• Some mine workers were killed in the explosion. The remaining were trapped when the roof caved in and then drowned because of the gushing-in water.
• The Chasnala Colliery was then owned by the India Iron and Steel Company (IISC). Now the mine is owned by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) as IISC merged with SAIL.
• The local workers’ union had placed the death toll at 700, although the official record is 372.
• Rescue work continued till mid-January because it was almost impossible to remove the gallons of water. Special pipes and tubes were brought from Russia for the purpose.
• Unfortunately, only bodies were recovered and no one survived the tragedy. Also, since the company had not kept proper records of the workers, it is impossible to know the exact number of casualties. Since almost a month had passed, only skeletal remains were retrieved and most people were identified by their belt and battery lamp number.
• The government announced some monetary compensation and jobs to the kith of the deceased.
• However, justice came too late for them. Only in March 2012 the court awarded punishment to the officials involved. The then agent and manager of the colliery was awarded one year’s rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.5000. Two other accused had died while the trial was going on. Two other officials were also given one year’s RI and a penalty of Rs.5000. It took 37 long years for justice to be delivered. Whether it is too little and too late is a matter of debate.
• Shaheed Smarak, a memorial for the victims was built near the mine, and was later moved to a park in Dhanbad.
• This incident raised a big question on the safety of the miners who work in highly dangerous conditions.

Also on this day

1797: Birth of eminent Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib.

1822: Birth of Louis Pasteur, French biologist who invented the process of pasteurization.

1911: ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was sung for the first time, at a Congress session at Calcutta.

2007: Assassination of Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto.

See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.

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