Undeterred by fear of death, 57-year-old Asif Khan kept his nose to the grindstone to dig coal so that the country's power plants could keep running at a time when people were forced to stay indoors as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
With the country facing an unprecedented situation, Khan, who works in the Kamptee open cast mine of the Coal India arm WCL, said it was time to serve the nation "as a soldier fearlessly keeps his life at stake to protect his country from enemies."
Khan considers the COVID-19 crisis as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to serve the country by reporting to work amid all the risks.
"If me and many like me don't go to work, who would produce coal," he asked.
"I don't want that situation to arise when in the absence of coal, the country's power houses come to a standstill, and in the absence of electricity, the hospitals which are treating coronavirus patients collapse," Khan told over phone.
There are many more miners, such as Khan, who have braved the risks associated with the pandemic to fulfill their professional duties.
Shiv Kumar Yadav is one of those workers. He has been at the forefront since the beginning of the crisis, producing coal so that Coal India Ltd (CIL) is able to meet its output target and keep electricity generators well supplied during the summers when the demand for fuel rises sharply.
Yadav was haunted by the fear of COVID-19 when the country's lockdown began.
"My son said 'papa please don't go. God forbid, if you get infected so would we'," Yadav reminisces.
However, Yadav says that he did not succumb to the pressure of his family, adding that the sense of duty and the urge to serve the nation made him and his colleagues report to work even in these difficult times.
Another coal miner, Ranjeet Singh, said, "We 're all putting our best so that Coal India doesn't die."
Gopal Singh owes much to the management of Coal India, in particular to his immediate boss, Diwakar Gokhale, who is Area General Manager (Nagpur Area) of Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) for his "never-say-die" spirit.
The company undertakes various initiatives to motivate workers.
Recently, under the leadership of Gokhale, the workers received floral tributes and heartily applauded when they came out of the mine after finishing their shift.
For the initiative, a special team of four-five members was flown from Nagpur to the mines, some 40 km away.
All the social distancing norms have been followed, Gokhale said, adding that the miners must be motivated in such difficult times.
The company has also taken several steps to ensure the safety of its employees.
In addition to providing masks, foot-operated wash basins have been installed at vulnerable sites in all the mines in the Nagpur area, with many coronavirus cases reported by the city.
Sanitation of all heavy earth moving machines takes place in all the three working shifts on a daily basis,he added.
