Meghalaya minister Kyrmen Shylla has bizarrely claimed that nearly 4,000 tonnes of missing coal may have been washed away by rain into Bangladesh and Assam.
A Meghalaya minister has stirred fresh controversy by giving a bizarre explanation that the state’s missing 4,000 metric tonnes of coal might actually have been washed away by monsoon rain into neighbouring Bangladesh and Assam. The remark was made by Meghalaya Cabinet Minister Kyrmen Shylla amidst intense scrutiny from the Meghalaya High Court over the mysterious disappearance of the illegally mined coal.
“I am not trying to justify but we need to remind ourselves that if you remember Meghalaya has one of the highest rainfall rate in the country,” Shylla said. “So due to this high and heavy rainfall anything can happen. Remember, there is an allegation that because of the rains in Meghalaya, floods happened in Assam, and from East Jaintia Hills, rain water goes to Bangladesh. You never know, it could be because of the rains the coal got carried away,” he told reporters in Shillong on Monday.
The coal, which was stored at depots in Rajaju and Diengngan villages under the Ranikor Block of South West Khasi Hills district, had been officially surveyed and recorded. However, the latest interim report by the Justice (Retd) BP Katakey Committee — tasked with monitoring coal mining and transportation in Meghalaya — flagged that the coal had “disappeared”.
While not explicitly confirming illegal activity, Shylla cautiously distanced himself from outright denial. “I cannot blame the rain alone, I don’t have any details with me to say that there was illegal transportation. However, since we have the authority, we need to ensure that there is no illegal transportation or illegal mining, it should be as per law,” he added.
