GUWAHATI: Mining expert, Jaswant Singh Gill inspected the flooded rat hole mine in East Jaintia Hills where 14 persons are trapped since the past eight days, even as the rescue operations did not yield any positive result till Thursday evening.
However, the water level, both in the main shaft and the Lytein river, receded by about 17 inches on Thursday after it had risen by about 26 inches on Wednesday following incessant rain in the previous day. Fortunately, there has been no rain since the past 36 hours till Thursday evening.
The water level in the main shaft has to be brought to 30 feet for the NDRF divers to move to the surface, for which two 25HP pumps have been continuously operating and extracting out water.
Gill, who had saved the lives of 65 people in a West Bengal mine back in 1989, arrived at the site around 1.30pm on Thursday. East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner, Frederick M Dopth, East Jaintia Hills superintendent of police, Sylvester Nongtnger and the inspector general of police, H. Nongpluh, were with him at the site for over an hour.
The mining expert suggested that the deputy commissioner write to the state government to approach Coal India Limited (CIL) for access to more powerful water pumps for installation not only in the affected mine but in the nearby quarries as well, as they are inter-connected.
“It has been established that the river and the mine water are the same and the only chance now is to plug the entry points of water to the mine and block the river flow into it. Secondly, I have advised the state government to bring four to five submersible, high-power pumps from Coal India Limited, which can be returned after use as procurement of such pumps could cost between Rs 4crore to 5crore,” Gill told The Shillong Times on his return to Shillong from the site on Thursday evening.
“Once the high power pumps (from CIL) are put into use, the water should be extracted within four to five days,” he said.
The expert was requested to visit the site by the Meghalaya government after rescue operations carried out by NDRF and SDRF personnel since last Friday could not make headway with water level in the shaft not receding.
Experts from the directorate general of mining safety were earlier there at the site and had suggested tests which confirmed that the water which entered the mine was from the river.
(Additional inputs from Sannio Siangshai in Jowai)