Sonbhadra is a name that indicates wealth and good tidings. As a part of a region straddling Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh — arguably India’s richest in terms of mineral resources though not in human development — this district in Uttar Pradesh is also India’s energy capital. It is home to some 6,000 MW of coal plant capacity — nearly half of all of Tamil Nadu’s. On Saturday, a stone quarry collapsed over nearly a dozen workers in Obra in the district. The death toll is mounting even as hopes are still alive that some may have survived. The State government has ordered a three-tier probe by the district administration, the police and the mining department. An FIR has been filed against the quarry owner alleging negligence of safety protocols. But if there

See Full Page