Odisha's elite firefighters struggle for breakthrough in Meghalaya mine

BHUBANESHWAR: Dressed in canary-yellow jerseys and orange track-pants that can be spotted from a mile away, the men of the Odisha Fire Service (OFS) have become a recognisable presence at sites of natural disasters across India since 2014. Their stellar show in Andhra Pradesh during Cyclone Hudhud in that year and in the Kerala flash floods in August 2018 has earned the OFS praise. However success has proved elusive in its latest mission – assisting the National Disaster Response Force and divers of the Navy in rescuing 15 miners trapped in a ‘rat-hole’ mine in Meghalaya’s Ksan village since December 13.

While all states have their own firefighters, it is Odisha’s that get frequent calls during natural disasters to extend a helping hand to other states. In the case of Meghalaya’s man-made tragedy, OFS was called in by the National Disaster Management Authority. OFS officials said the personnel are trained not just to douse fires, but to carry out search and rescue operations in the aftermath of calamities, especially in flooded rivers and rough seas.
Prasanta Kumar Dhal, a fire officer who was part of the 245-member team that was deployed in Kerala during the 2018 floods, recounted his ordeal of carrying out rescue operations in neck-deep water. “I have seen a number of cyclones and floods in Odisha. But Kerala was challenging because the level of destruction was intense. My colleagues and I rescued hundreds of people who were marooned,” he recalled. OFS had sent its men on August 18 in response to a request from the Union ministry of home affairs.

This time, too, the request came from the home ministry (NDMA is an agency of the ministry). But a breakthrough is yet to be reached, mostly due to a combination of factors such as unfamiliarity with the terrain, cold weather, timing of the deployment and the tree root-like nature of the rat-hole mine.
The OFS men’s training takes into account the fact that their home state is extremely vulnerable to natural calamities such as cyclones. In the past five years alone, Odisha has borne the brunt of three big cyclones – Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014) and Titli (2018). Not knowing the terrain of Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, where Ksan is located, and the numerous shafts branching off from the 370-foot-deep main shaft, where the miners are believed to be trapped, has made their job that much harder.

Sukanta Sethy, leader of the 20-member OFS team now in the northeastern state, said they were engaged in dewatering the branch shafts to ease pressure inside the main chamber. “The job is very tough. We have never come across such a crisis. Though we keep dewatering the surrounding shafts using high-power pumps, the narrow pits keep getting filled with water,” Sethy told TOI from Ksan.
The home ministry asked the Odisha government to send its firemen to Meghalaya on December 28, 2018, 15 days after the mine reportedly collapsed. With the miners’ chances of survival dimming every passing day, the gap between incident and deployment has compounded the OFS team’s job. The cold, too, had added to the woes of the men who are more used to dealing with calamities such as floods and cyclones, Sethy added.
OFS, established in 1936, attributes the success of its men to fitness and training. Currently, a total of 341 fire stations with around 5,000 personnel exist across the state. Unlike police personnel, who hardly undergo any in-service physical fitness training, OFS personnel are subjected to rigorous training every month at three training centres — Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Institute at Naraj in Cuttack district and Odisha State Watermanship and Lifeguard Institute at Ramchandi in Puri district.
“We impart training on tree cutting, rock cutting, underwater rescue operations, swimming and scuba diving. Our training modules, ranging from one month to nine months, are used by fire personnel from other states also,” said director (training) of OFS, Brajendu Bhusan Das.