Read the passage and answer the following questions:-
54 miners at the Bhatdih colliery of Nagada were trapped Wednesday night following a blast due to the accumulation of gases. It was about 8 p.m. when the explosion, caused by the pressure due to the accumulation of methane and carbon monoxide, shook the colliery belonging to the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL). The intensity was so high that a one-tonne trolley in inclination number 17 was thrown out. Four rescue teams have been constituted. But they don't have adequate number of oxygen masks to enter the deep mine where the incident occurred. Most of the trapped miners are between the ages of 20 and 30. Family members and union leaders have blamed the BCCL management for the incident. This is one of the BCCL's poisonous mines. No safety measures have been adopted by the management. Water sprinkling facilities and gas testing machines should be available in the colliery. But no such arrangements have been made here, said a union member.
The accident described in the passage is an example of
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Lack of safety arrangement by the management
Option (1) Carelessness of the mine workers — Incorrect. No one in the passage blames the miners. The family members and union leaders blamed the BCCL management for the incident.
Option (2) Irresponsible exploitation of mines — Incorrect. The passage does not say the mine was worked too hard or dug wrongly. What it reports is missing safety equipment, which let the gases build up unchecked.
Option (3) Lack of safety arrangement by the management — Correct. The blast came from the pressure of methane and carbon monoxide that had accumulated in the mine. A union member says no safety measures have been adopted by the management: there were no water sprinkling facilities or gas testing machines, and the rescue teams did not even have enough oxygen masks.
Option (4) Inevitable outcome of mining work — Incorrect. The accident could have been prevented. Gas testing machines would have shown the build-up of gases before the explosion, and the law lays down safety rules for mines, which the big companies are expected to follow.
Note: The passage, Box 5.6 of the chapter ‘Change and Development in Industrial Society’, was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023. The box has been deleted from the NCERT book (2025-26), though the chapter is still there.
NCERT: Social Change and Development in India — Chapter 5: Change and Development in Industrial Society, Box 5.6 (Pre-rationalised)
|
