Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Crushing lives: On the need to enforce rules in quarries

Crushing lives: On the need to enforce rules in quarries

Strict enforcement (लागू करना, कार्यान्वित करना) of rules in quarries alone can prevent environmental and human costs (loss, suffering, damage, detriment; adverse effects)

Working in hazardous (खतरनाक, असुरक्षित) sites such as quarries, where explosives (विस्फोटक) and heavy machinery (equipment, apparatus, instruments, tools) are deployed (तैनात करना, उपयोग करना, नियोजित करना), is fraught (भरा हुआ) with risks. But human casualties (दुर्घटना, पीड़ित, हानि) in accidents caused at such sites due to greed-induced (लालच प्रेरित, लालच के कारण) exploitation (शोषण, लाभ उठाना, उपयोग करना), violation (उल्लंघन, तोड़ना) of safety and operational norms (मानक, आदर्श, नियम), and collusion (मिलीभगत, आपसी साँठ - गाँठ) with regulators (an association/statutory body that supervises a particular business activity), involve an element of culpability (दोषी, अभियोज्यता). The death of three workers at the privately owned Venkateshwara Stone Crusher Unit, at Adaimithippaankulam in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, bears tragic testimony to this. Here, a falling boulder trapped (फंसाना, अटकना, जाल लगाना) six workers and their heavy vehicles under debris (मलबा, पथरीले टुकड़ों का ढेर) in a 300-feet deep stone quarry (a type of open-pit mine in which rock, sand, gravel or other minerals is excavated from the ground) on Saturday night. The management, according to the State Director of Mining (खुदाई, खनन) and Geology (the study of the solid Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them), was served (deliver to, present with, give to, hand over to) a closure notice last month and instructed to suspend operations, after violations. Yet, the operations went on illegally until the fateful night, which brought officials, politicians and rescuers to the site. Perhaps (maybe, possibly), a random inspection in the interregnum (period, intervening time/period) could have prevented the loss of lives. The preliminary inquiry (an official) investigation, examination, probe, scrutiny, inspection) suggests the crusher unit, which has facilities for the manufacture of M-Sand and blue metal (a quarried, crushed aggregate rock that can range in colour from blue to black. It comes in three sizes: 5 mm, 10 mm or 20 mm, and is primarily used in making concrete or road), had compromised (undermine, weaken, damage) safety along the vehicle path. The breach (contravention, violation, breaking, non-observance) in the mandated (required, mandatory, compulsory) 10 feet distance between the upper vehicle path and the immediate lower path is believed to have caused the falling boulder to plunge deeper into the quarry, aggravating (worsen, make worse, exacerbate, inflame, compound) the tragedy.

The Revenue Secretary has announced a comprehensive (all-inclusive, broad-based; all-embracing, complete, thorough) safety audit (inspection, examination, survey, scrutiny, probe, investigation, assessment, appraisal, evaluation) exercise in all stone quarries. Given (considering, taking into account, bearing in mind) that a political nexus (connection, link), quarry operations and the grant (allocation, allotment) of licences are inseparable (impossible to separate; close, intimate, confidential, loyal), such crackdowns have rarely been effective. The plundering (devastate, ransack, lay waste) of natural resources including in the ecologically (environmentally) sensitive (delicate, easily damaged, fragile) Western Ghats (The mountain range that runs along the west coast of peninsular India from Tamil Nadu through Kerala, Karnataka and Goa to Maharashtra is known as the Western Ghats. Spread across six states, Western Ghats is a treasure trove of biodiversity and source of major rivers, including Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery) due to excessive blasting and mining has been well documented by committees (commission, board, council, panel, advisory body), either appointed by the government or by the courts. For instance (for example; as an example), former IAS officer U. Sagayam, as the Madras High Court-appointed Legal Commissioner, had estimated ₹16,000 crore loss to the exchequer (treasury, coffers; funds/resources/finances) due to illegal granite mining in the Madurai region alone. There has been a mushrooming (increase, expand, grow, develop rapidly) of unlicensed (illegal, unlawful, illicit) quarries too. Just last year the High Court had ordered the closure of 64 unlicensed stone quarries in Tiruppur district, based on the findings of an advocate-commissioner. The revenue loss aside (apart, notwithstanding), it is impossible to fix a cost to the resultant (ensuing, consequent) irretrievable (irreversible, irreparable, irrecoverable) damage to the environment and risk exposure (vulnerability, subjection) to humans. The big sharks (a lot of money amassed by cheating others; (or) a person who is unethically exploiting others; a dishonest person, particularly one who convinces other people to pay a lot of money for something) have been targeted mostly when a ruling party has an axe to grind. There is now a spurt (sudden increase, rise, surge) in the quarrying volume in the Tirunelveli-Kanniyakumari region to meet the huge demand from Kerala, where an estimated 80% of quarried materials is transported. It calls (ask for, request, appeal, demand) for the enforcement of restrictions on such inter-State transport of minerals. Immediate responses to tragedies usually have a short life. Only a genuine administrative will (determination, will power, resolution, resolve, single-mindedness, commitment, dedication) to sustain (continue, carry on, maintain) the enforcement of rules in quarries is of real consequence (importance, import, significance, substance, prominence, value, seriousness).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.enforce (verb)

Hindi Meaning - लागू करना, कार्यान्वित करना
English Meaning - impose, implement, carry out; force, demand, insist on.

2.hazardous (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - खतरनाक, असुरक्षित
English Meaning - dangerous, risky, unsafe, perilous, precarious, insecure.

3.explosive (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विस्फोटक
English Meaning - bomb, incendiary device, incendiary.

4.deploy (verb)

Hindi Meaning - तैनात करना, उपयोग करना, नियोजित करना
English Meaning - use, utilize, employ, make use of.

5.fraught (with) (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भरा हुआ
English Meaning - full of, filled with, rife with, charged with, loaded with.

6.casualty (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दुर्घटना, पीड़ित, हानि
English Meaning - victim, sufferer, loss; fatality, mortality.

7.greed-induced (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - लालच प्रेरित, लालच के कारण
English Meaning - caused by greed (selfish desire).

8.exploitation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शोषण, लाभ उठाना, उपयोग करना
English Meaning - taking advantage, making use, abuse of, misuse, ill treatment, unfair treatment.

9.violation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन, तोड़ना
English Meaning - contravention, breach, breaking, transgression, non-observance.

10.norm (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानक, आदर्श, नियम
English Meaning - rule, standard, criterion.

11.collusion (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मिलीभगत, आपसी साँठ - गाँठ
English Meaning - conspiracy, connivance, complicity, intrigue, secret understanding, collaboration.

12.culpability (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दोषी, अभियोज्यता
English Meaning - guilt, blame/fault; responsibility.

13.trap (verb)

Hindi Meaning - फंसाना, अटकना, जाल लगाना
English Meaning - confine, get stuck, prevent from escape a place.

14.debris (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मलबा, पथरीले टुकड़ों का ढेर
English Meaning - broken pieces, rubble, wreckage.

15.mining (noun)

Hindi Meaning - खुदाई, खनन
English Meaning - the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth.

16.crushing (adjective)

English Meaning - disappointing, embarrassing; appalling, dreadful, horrible, shocking, terrible; demanding, difficult, onerous, taxing disturbing.

17.quarry (noun)

English Meaning - a type of open-pit mine in which rock, sand, gravel or other minerals is excavated from the ground.

18.enforcement (noun)

English Meaning - imposition, implementation, carrying out; forcing, compelling, demanding.

19.cost (noun)

English Meaning - loss, suffering, damage, detriment; adverse effects.

20.machinery (noun)

English Meaning - equipment, apparatus, instruments, tools.

21.regulator (noun)

English Meaning - an association/statutory body that supervises a particular business activity.

22.bear testimony/witness to (phrase)

English Meaning - testify to, be evidence of, be proof of, attest to, confirm, evidence, prove, vouch for.

23.boulder (noun)

English Meaning - stone/rock (a big one).

24.geology (noun)

English Meaning - the study of the solid Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them.

25.mining geology (noun)

English Meaning - an applied science which combines the principles of economic geology and mining engineering to the development of a defined mineral resource.

26.serve (verb)

English Meaning - deliver to, present with, give to, hand over to.

27.go on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - continue, carry on, proceed.

28.fateful (adjective)

English Meaning - disastrous, ruinous, devastating, destructive, tragic, awful, terrible, harmful, fatal, deadly.

29.perhaps (adverb)

English Meaning - maybe, possibly.

30.interregnum (noun)

English Meaning - period, intervening time/period.

31.inquiry (noun)

English Meaning - (an official) investigation, examination, probe, scrutiny, inspection.

32.Manufactured sand (M-Sand) (noun)

English Meaning - artificial sand produced from crushing hard stones into small sand sized angular shaped particles, washed and finely graded to be used as construction aggregate. It is a superior alternative to River Sand for construction purpose.

33.blue metal (noun)

English Meaning - a quarried, crushed aggregate rock that can range in colour from blue to black. It comes in three sizes: 5 mm, 10 mm or 20 mm, and is primarily used in making concrete or road.

34.compromise (verb)

English Meaning - undermine, weaken, damage.

35.breach (noun)

English Meaning - contravention, violation, breaking, non-observance.

36.mandated (adjective)

English Meaning - required, mandatory, compulsory.

37.plunge (verb)

English Meaning - fall suddenly and uncontrollably.

38.aggravate (verb)

English Meaning - worsen, make worse, exacerbate, inflame, compound.

39.comprehensive (adjective)

English Meaning - all-inclusive, broad-based; all-embracing, complete, thorough.

40.audit (noun)

English Meaning - inspection, examination, survey, scrutiny, probe, investigation, assessment, appraisal, evaluation.

41.given (preposition)

English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

42.nexus (noun)

English Meaning - connection, link.

43.grant (noun)

English Meaning - allocation, allotment.

44.inseparable (noun)

English Meaning - impossible to separate; close, intimate, confidential, loyal.

45.crackdown (noun)

English Meaning - clampdown, getting tough/severe measures, suppression.

46.plunder (verb)

English Meaning - devastate, ransack, lay waste.

47.ecologically (adverb)

English Meaning - environmentally.

48.sensitive (adjective)

English Meaning - delicate, easily damaged, fragile

49.Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) (noun)

English Meaning - Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas in India notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.

50.Western Ghats (noun)

English Meaning - The mountain range that runs along the west coast of peninsular India from Tamil Nadu through Kerala, Karnataka and Goa to Maharashtra is known as the Western Ghats. Spread across six states, Western Ghats is a treasure trove of biodiversity and source of major rivers, including Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery.

51.committee (noun)

English Meaning - commission, board, council, panel, advisory body.

52.for instance (phrase)

English Meaning - for example; as an example.

53.exchequer (noun)

English Meaning - treasury, coffers; funds/resources/finances.

54.mushroom (verb)

English Meaning - increase, expand, grow, develop rapidly.

55.unlicensed (adjective)

English Meaning - illegal, unlawful, illicit.

56.findings (noun)

English Meaning - conclusion arrived at (as a result of an inquiry).

57.aside (adverb)

English Meaning - apart, notwithstanding.

58.resultant (adjective)

English Meaning - ensuing, consequent.

59.irretrievable (adjective)

English Meaning - irreversible, irreparable, irrecoverable.

60.exposure (noun)

English Meaning - vulnerability, subjection.

61.shark (noun)

English Meaning - a lot of money amassed by cheating others; (or) a person who is unethically exploiting others; a dishonest person, particularly one who convinces other people to pay a lot of money for something.

62.have an axe to grind (phrase)

English Meaning - have selfish/personal reason for doing something.

63.spurt (noun)

English Meaning - sudden increase, rise, surge.

64.call (for) (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - ask for, request, appeal, demand.

65.inter- (prefix)

English Meaning - between; among.

66.will (noun)

English Meaning - determination, will power, resolution, resolve, single-mindedness, commitment, dedication.

67.sustain (verb)

English Meaning - continue, carry on, maintain.