Octobe r-j‘23, 1914. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 869 Province, 80 per cent. In the last-mentioned province the output is negligible. The output per person employed during the year was (a) below ground 183 tons, and (6) above and below ground 116 tons. The figures for the five years pre- ceding were (a) 169 and (?) 108. Taking each group of coalfields separately these figures were as follows :— Bengal and Bihar, (a) 186 and 172, (5) 118 and 110; the Central Provinces, (a) 126 and 123, (b) 88 and 86; Assam, (a) 163 and 246, (b) 110 and 155; Baluchistan (a) 74 and 69, (b) 49 and 46; and Panjab and North- West, (a) 85 and 45, (b) 57 and 27. The table appended shows the number of coal mines Table showing the Number of Coal Mines Province. Bihar and Orissa ... -> Bengal Central Provinces . Panjab Assam Baluchistan North-West Frontier Province REGULATED BY THE INDIAN MlNES ACT, 1901. District and mineral field. Number of mines under the scope of the Act. Worked by mecha- nical power. Total output. Average number of persons employed daily in and about the mines. Grand total above and below ground. Below ground. Above ground. ( Bokaro-Ramgarh ... 10 Tons. 2,855 124 60 184 Hazaribagh -J Giridih 9 5 806,810 5,125 3,203 8,328 (Jharia 6 — 2,087 101 75 176 Manbhum 251 132 8,606,223 44,414 26,830 71,244 83 8 674,864 4,136 1,952 6,088 Sonthal (Raniganj 2 — 2,532 21 5 26 Parganas <_ Rajmahal 2 — 2,868 23 31 51 Palamau, Dalton ganj 1 1 85,345 501 272 773 Sambalpur, Hingir-Rampur 1 1 42,805 329 160 489 Total 365 147 10,226,389 54,774 32,588 87,362 Bankura, Raniganj 2 — 5,225 62 9 71 Birbhum ,, 1 — 2,461 25 10 35 Burdwan „ 181 152 4,642,166 25,127 13,320 38,447 Total 184 152 4,649,852 25,214 13 339 38,553 Chhin dwara, Pench Valley 5 4 89,805 614 218 832 Narsinghpur, Mohpani 1 1 64.887 760 418 1,178 Chanda, Ballarpur 2 2 80,959 493 181 674 Total 8 7 235,651 1,867 817 2,684 Jhelum 6 — r ■ 46,155 585 261 846 Shahpur 2 — 4,885 12 34 46 Total 8 — 51,040 597 295 892 Lakhimpur 10 . 7 270,364 1,658 800 2,458 Bolan 1 990 12 4 16 Kalat 1 — 5 10 — 10 Quetta-Pishin 8 — 6,155 62 39 101 Sibi-Khost 15 1 45,585 6o6 317 923 Loralai 1 — 197 22 15 37 Total 26 1 52,932 712 375 1,087 Hazara 1 — 90 6 — 6 Grand total (coal) for 1913 602 314 15,486,318 84,828 48,214 133,042 ,, „ of preceding year 527 276 14,044,368 17,930 43,462 121,392 regulated by the Indian Mines Act, 1901, the number of workers, and the output of minerals during 1913. Accidents. During the year 1913, at mines regulated by the Indian Mines Act, 1901, there were 136 fatal accidents, being an increase of three as compared with the number in 1912, and an increase of six as compared with the average number of the last five years. These accidents involved the loss of 211 lives. This is an increase of 26 upon the number of deaths in 1912. In the report for 1912 it was stated that one accident caused 23 deaths. The year under report was a peculiarly unfortunate one as regards the large loss of life occasioned by certain accidents; 27 lives were lost on the occasion of an explosion, 27 by three irruptions of water, and seven by a fall of roof. Of these 136 accidents, Mr. Simpson regards (a) 60 as being due to misadventure, (b) 33 to the fault of the deceased, (c) seven to the fault of fellow workmen, (d) eight to the fault of subordinate officials, and (e) 28 to the fault of the management. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence for persons to be killed in a mine whose presence there was entirely unknown to the officials. A point to which attention may be directed is the desirability of raising the standard of qualifica- tions demanded from the subordinate officials, particu- larly sirdars. To obtain the right class of men a general increase in the rates of pay would be necessary. Educa- tional facilities for subordinate officials have been pro- vided in the Jharia and Raniganj coalfields since 1906, and funds have now been sanctioned for the extension of these facilities to persons who speak only the vernaculars. The death rate per 1,000 persons employed was 146, while that of the preceding four years was 147. At coal mines only these figures were 1’39 and 1-32, and at mines other than coal 0’54 and 0-74. The death rate per millions of tons raised at coal mines only was 11*95, while that of the preceding four years was 11-97. Of the persons killed, 169 were males, 41 females, and one child. The deaths occurring in each class of mine worked were as follows :—185 in coal mines, seven in man- ganese mines, nine in gold mines, six in wolfram mines, one in copper mines, one in clay mines, one in salt mines, and one in limestone mines; 29 persons lost their lives by explosions of firedamp; 78 by falls of roof and sides; 29 in shafts; one by suffocation by gases; two by explosives; 30 by irruptions of water; 16 by haulage; 14 by other accidents underground; and 12 on the sur- face. The increase in the number of deaths from explo- sions of firedamp is due to the lamentable disaster at Chowrasi coal mine, by which 27 persons lost their lives. In the Bengal and Bihar coal mines, where most of the statistical accidents occur, there were 162 deaths, compared with 137 in 1912; but it may be remarked that the year has witnessed four disastrous occurrences in these provinces, caused by floods and an explosion, which are responsible for 54 deaths. If the large acci- dents of both years are eliminated, the number of deaths is 108, compared with 114 in 1912. In the last report an accident due to an irruption of flood water from the surface, causing 23 deaths, was mentioned. Previous to 1912, accidents from this cause had been exceedingly rare. Since 1896 only one acci- dent, causing two deaths, had occurred, and it was hoped that such an accident as the one above referred to would not occur again. In the year under report, however, no less than four accidents occurred from this cause, involving the loss of 13, two, seven, and seven lives respectively. In the first three cases, nalas or rivers overflowed into the mines, and on the occasion of the last of these three accidents many other mines were flooded and completely filled, fortunately without loss of life. It has taken many months for some of them to be dewatered. In the fourth case, a rise gallery had been driven much too near the bed of a small nala, and on the same night as that just alluded to the water of this nala, which was in high flood, burst into the gallery. The practice of driving galleries too near the surface when such surface forms a portion of or is near to a nala or low-lying ground is a dangerous one, and in all sus- pected cases a careful check survey and levelling should be made so that the exact position may be ascertained, and if found necessary protective works should be under- taken. A feature of the year’s working is the large number of accidents that can be traced, directly or indirectly, to goafing operations. There were 24 such accidents out of a total of 60 caused by falls of roof and sides. Goafing is rapidly on the increase, and will in time be practised at every mine, but it should be remembered that the supervision which is adequate for gallery driving will not suffice for goafing. Generally speaking, the work has not been systematised, and until it is accidents are bound to occur. Insistence on props being set before goafing commences, and at a definite distance apart while it is in progress, and on the removal of all over- hanging side and the. support of fractured corners of pillars, will do much to eliminate many of the dangers that are inherent in this class of work. During the year steps were initiated for the estab- lishment of special rules for coal mines under section 21 of the Act. The statutory procedure is cumbersome, and delays are unavoidable. In the Jharia coalfield, owing to Hindi having recently been permitted as a vernacular language in the courts, the process of estab- lishing the rules is delayed pending the receipt of a satisfactory Hindi translation. The Chowrasi Explosion. Ignitions and explosions of gas have occurred in India from time to time, but this is the first occasion on which the Department has had to record an outbreak of fire which resulted in an explosion on a very large scale, in which coal dust played the prominent part it frequently does in such catastrophes, and accounted for the large area traversed by the explosion and for the violence and force accompanying it. The mine consists of six inclines and six air shafts, all of which are connected. There is an area of 15,600,000 sq. ft. of workings, consisting of pillars and galleries, the latter aggregating 62| miles in length. The seam is the Dishargarh seam. It is here 9 ft. thick, and dips towards the south at the* rate of 1 in 3|. The accident was made the subject of an enquiry under section 18 of the Indian Mines Act. One man, a pumpman, named Sahadat Sheik, who was one of those who escaped, was an eye-witness of the initial con- flagration, and was therefore able to give extremely valuable evidence. He wras employed at a pump near the face of the companion dip of No. 3 inclind. He stated that the surveyor babu and a sirdar came to extend the chalk centre line of No. 3 incline main dip gallery, and that when the surveyor raised his candle near the roof there was a flame, which, in spite of the efforts of the two men to put it out, increased and moved about, until a brattice sheet erected longitudinally in the gallery caught fire. There is no doubt that the sur- veyor lit an accumulation of gas in this dip gallery. It is probable that the men working there that morning struck into a feeder of gas. The subsequent explosion was probably caused by the burning brattice cloth and timbers heating up the small coal, which is usually lying on the floors of galleries, and eventually the solid pillars of coal, to such an extent that volatile gases were liberated from the coal in much the same wray as these gases are given off in a coke oven. The Dishargarh seam is very rich in volatile gases, which are easily liberated from the coal when the latter is heated. It cannot be stated definitely that the stopping of the fan and the sealing off of Nos. 1 and 2 inclines had any influence on the occurrence of the explosions, but it is a significant fact that when, after the explosions, the fire had gained such a hold on the workings as to induce enormous quantities of air to pass down Nos. 1 and 6 inclines and air shafts—110,000 cu. ft. of air per minute were measured at No. 6 incline alone—it burned for three or four days without any further explosion occur- ring. It would probably have been better to have slowed down the fan instead of stopping it altogether. The sealing off was eventually effected by filling in those inclines and shafts which were smoking and flaming, leaving the intakes untouched. * The Dishargarh seam gives off gas in some mines,< and the neighbouring mine to Chowrasi was and is worked exclusively with safety lamps. Chowrasi wTas worked as an open light mine, except that in certain forward drivings, including the face of No. 3 incline, safety lamps were used as a precaution. The manage- ment of Chowrasi held that such gas as had been dis- covered was not of such quantity as to compel them to put in safety lamps generally in accordance with the rule. Enquiry has shown that they were justified in their views. Gas had been seen from time to time, but in very small quantities. On two occasions persons had been very slightly singed, and it was stated in evidence that gas was ignited by some person unknown in the No. 3 incline main dip about nine months previous to this accident. The manager on being apprised of the fact went there, and found it burning. No gas had ever been found by an inspector, but in 1911 the inspector of mines for the circle drew attention to the fact that gas was reported from time to time in the daily report book, and suggested to the management that the venti- lation should be improved. The result was that a fan was ordered from England, and had been set to work a few days before the explosion occurred. Health and Sanitation. During the year 214 deaths from cholera were reported to have taken place in the Jharia coalfield, and 28 deaths in the Raniganj coalfield. Nd deaths from plague or smallpox are known to have occurred in the same areas. During the year rules under section 11 of the Bengal Mining Settlement Act were published. Steps are being taken to appoint a Mines Board of Health for the Jharia coalfield. The Act for the provision of a pure water supply for the Jharia coalfield has been drafted, and it is to be hoped that the construction of the reservoir near Topchanchi will not be long delayed. Towards the end of the year there was an epidemic of smallpox at Mohpani coal mine in the Central Provinces. Altogether there were 76 cases and 10 deaths.. The mine superintendent remarks that the lesson to be learnt from the epidemic is the great importance of systematic re-vaccination of adults. The total rainfall at Jealgora in the Jharia coalfield was 71-51 in., or 26-82 in. in excess of that for the previous year. In the Giridih coalfield it was 61-85in.. and in the Raniganj coalfield 78-39 in., or more than double the fall recorded in 1912.