(1)Except for the duration of shaft sinking or the drivage of other means of access and egress from the mine together with the necessary development work, no person shall be employed, or be permitted to enter or remain for purpose of employment, in any working below ground, unless the working is provided with at least two separate means of access to the mine and egress to surface from the mine:(a)with which every seam or section for the time being at work has a communication so as to afford separate means of ingress and egress to the persons employed therein;(b)which do not have their surface openings in the same building; and(c)which are under the sole control of the manager:Provided that the Chief Inspector may, by an order in writing and subject to such conditions as he may specify therein, permit the employment belowground of persons even in a case where the two shafts, inclines or outlets are not under the control of the same manager.(2)The Regional Inspector may, by an order in writing and subject to such conditions as he may specify therein, permit the employment belowground of restricted number of persons even in a case where places in the working of the mine do not contain two means of egress from each working place.(3)Suitable arrangements shall be made for persons to descend and ascend by each of such means of access and egress; such as(a)where the shaft is more than 30 metres in depth, such arrangements shall be by mechanical means so installed and maintained as to be constantly available for use; and(b)where the incline is more than one and half kilo metres in length (one way) or the travel by persons is arduous, a suitable man-riding system approved in writing by the Chief Inspector shall be provided for persons to access and egress from the working of the mine:Provided that in case of any doubt as to whether any such arrangement referred to clause(a) or clause (b) is suitable or not, it shall be referred to the Chief Inspector for decision.(4)Both the means of egress and the equipment used therein for the transport of persons shall be kept constantly in a safe condition to facilitate ease of traveling, including clearances for hand carried stretchers.(5)Where in any shaft, ladders are used as a means of ingress or egress of persons employed in a mine, every such ladder shall -(i)be of strong construction;(ii)be securely fixed in the shaft at an inclination of not more than 80 degrees from the horizontal;(iii)be made continuous or without perceptible overlapping or break except at platforms which shall be provided at intervals of not more than nine metres;(iv)project at least one metre above the mouth of the shaft, and above every platform, except where strong holdfasts or handrails are provided;(v)have rungs equally spaced and at a sufficient distance from the wall or any timber to ensure proper foothold; and(vi)be maintained in good repair.(6)Such shafts, inclines or outlets shall not be less than 13.5 metres distant from one another at any point, and each shall be connected with the other by means of a walkable passage, not less than 1.8 'metres high and 1.5 metres wide, through the working belowground that are being served by such shafts, inclines or outlets.(7)Whenever the connection between two outlets which are required to be maintained under sub-regulation (1) has been obstructed or found dangerous, only such persons as are necessary to clear the obstruction or to repair the dangerous part of the connection or to make a new second outlet, as the case may be, shall be employed belowground until such time as the connection has been re-established or a new second outlet has been provided.(8)The foregoing provisions of this regulation with respect to shafts, inclines and outlets shall not apply -(a)to any working for the purpose of making a connection between two or more shafts, inclines or outlets; and(b)to any working for the sole purpose of searching for or proving minerals;Provided that nothing in this sub-regulation shall be deemed to authorise the driving of roadways for the development of a seam before a second outlet has been made in accordance with the said provisions.(9)In both the means of access and egress in the mine, an effective two way communication facilities with broadcasting system of telecommunication shall be provided to ensure that persons from belowground may be able to directly communicate to surface without any obstruction or loss of message and communication link.(10)The system of communication and telecommunication so provided under sub-regulation (9) shall be of wired, wireless or any other type, as approved by the Chief Inspector.(11)The System, configuration and layout of the communication and telecommunication network to be provided in the mine either on surface or belowground as well as from surface to belowground shall be approved in writing by the Chief Inspector.
