Singareni Bans Use of Mobile Phones in Coal Mines
Singareni Collieries has banned mobile phone use in underground and opencast mines, citing safety concerns and the growing trend of workers filming reels at worksites.
The Singareni Collieries has banned the use of mobile phones in underground and opencast coal mines. It issued an order to this effect recently.
This appears to be in the context of a trend to make reels through innovative methods and uploading them on social media.
A similar practice exists in Singareni coal mines. Workers and employees are capturing selfie videos and making reels at their workplace. Some workers are doing reels while going inside the underground mines with the help of man-riders and uploading them on social media.
Workers and employees compete to take photos, videos and selfies with political leaders when the latter visited the coal mines.
All these issues reached the ears of the chairman, leading to the curbs. Besides a decline in production, there is a possibility of accidents if huge vehicles are operated while watching mobile phones, the management felt.
Some 80 per cent of coal is being produced in opencast mines. Haul trucks and other big vehicles would be used to transport coal from quarries. There’s a possibility of accidents if operators use phones while driving vehicles.
Moreover, use of mobile phones in underground and opencast mines is against the norm set by the director general of mines safety, it is noted in the order.
In the order issued on July 20, the Singareni management asked workers and employees to deposit their mobile phones before getting into underground mines as well as opencasts. General managers of respective areas would implement the order strictly.
