House of Uttarakhand tunnel rat-hole miner razed in demolition drive in Delhi

The house of Wakeel Hasan, one of the rat-hole miners involved in the rescue operations to evacuate labourers trapped at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in November last year, was razed during a demolition drive conducted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) at Khajoori Khas in northeast Delhi on Wednesday.

According to DDA officials, the drive was conducted after prior intimation was given to the occupants of the structures demolished during the drive.

“On February 28, 2024, a demolition drive was conducted by DDA to remove encroachment from its acquired land in village Khajoori Khas. The land was part of planned development land,” DDA said in a statement.

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Hasan’s family, however, alleged that they were not given any prior notice. “We risked our lives to save people without once thinking beyond what was our duty. This is how the authorities are repaying me by making my children homeless. My 15-year-old daughter was also injured during the demolition. I begged the DDA team to stop the demolition action, but they did not listen to me. They removed only my house during the drive,” Hasan alleged.

DDA officials did not respond to the allegations.

Rat-hole mining refers to the practice of burrowing through mines manually using hand-held tools, a practice that is effective at navigating packed spaces but is illegal.

In November 2023, a portion of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel collapsed, trapping 41 workers inside. Though rescue operations started immediately, authorities had to rope in a 12-member rat-hole miners’ team in a last-ditch attempt to clear the final 12m of the 57m-thick wall of debris that trapped the 41 in the tunnel for 17 days. For their heroics, the team was hailed nationally, and also felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.