Shekhawat gives away national mines safety awards

New Delhi, Feb 14 (UNI) Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today urged the mining industry to do something concrete and tangible for the welfare of miners.

Presenting the ' National Mines Safety Awards for the year 2002 and 2003' at a function here, Mr Shekhawat said the mining industry is employment intensive and supports and sustains the livelihood of the millions of poor and deprived people.

Extraction of mineral wealth in economically backward and tribal regions has the potential to create exponential opportunities for income generation for the poor, he added.

Mr Shekhawat called upon the mining industry to remember that in real terms only safe mining is productive and it results from well-planned efforts.

He said the mining industry is important to the economy of the country, but it is also a hard reality that mining has been and continues to be hazardous. It has rightly been deemed to be a war with unpredictable forces of nature. The work of the miner is not only risky but is also extremely arduous and tiring, he added.

He said the mining sector has been further opened up to private and foreign investment, with increased mechanisation, modern techniques and increased depth of mining a new safety ethos must emerge in the industry.

UNI