The 12 rat-hole miners who played a crucial role in rescuing the 41 workers trapped inside the partially collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand have accused the state government of meting out “stepmotherly treatment” to them, reported The Indian Express.

Rat-hole mining is a primitive coal extraction method involving digging small tunnels through soil and other debris.

The under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in the Uttarkashi district is part of the Char Dham Road Project to build all-weather roads in Uttarakhand. A section of it collapsed on November 12, trapping the workers.

Although heavy machinery was deployed, the rescue operations had hit several snags. Due to this, on November 27, a group of rat-hole mining experts, employed by Delhi-based Rockwell Enterprises, began manual drilling through the debris. The miners went through an 800-millimetre pipe, drilled manually and removed the debris using shovels.

The tunnel workers were eventually rescued on November 28.

To felicitate the miners, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami offered each of them cheques of Rs 50,000 and shawls on Thursday.

The miners initially declined the cheques. However, they reluctantly accepted them following persistent appeals. Vaqeel Hasan, the head of Rockwell Enterprises, said that the miners will not cash the cheques until the government addresses their concerns.

“Those rescued from inside were given Rs 1-lakh cheques immediately by the chief minister, but for us, who put their lives on the line, they are giving Rs 50,000,” said Hasan. “We also said we do not want this Rs 50,000 reward, but if they want to do something for us, then set a milestone that if someone does something for India, the country does the same for them.”

Hasan said that the miners have requested permanent employment opportunities or financial aid so that they do not have to continue in a hazardous profession for long.

The state government is yet to respond to the concerns.

In a statement, Uttarakhand’s information department said that the miners had expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for “being welcomed and honoured in the state”.

“They said that it was a matter of pride for them that they got the opportunity to contribute along with various agencies to save the lives of 41 people trapped in the tunnel,” the statement read.