JOWAI/SHILLONG/NEW DELHI: The Odisha Fire Service and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) resumed rescue operations at the rat-hole mine in East Jaintia Hills on Wednesday with the dewatering of an abandoned mine near the main shaft at Ksan where 15 miners are believed to be trapped since December 13.
Only one high-powered pump was used to dewater the adjoining mine, which is 500m from the main shaft, but work progressed sluggishly owing to several challenges. The coal pits are narrow and deep and only one pump could be installed at a time with the help of a crane trolley.
Also, the pits are dark and despite the use of halogen lights, visibility remained a problem for divers.
No water was pumped out of the main shaft on Wednesday. The depth of water here is 160 feet.
“Submersible 500 GPM motor was installed by Coal India Limited and it is yet to be put under water for dewatering the abandoned neighbouring mines. Work will start tomorrow (on Thursday),” the rescuers informed.
The divers from the Indian Navy and the NDRF did not go down the main shaft because dewatering was going on in the nearby mines and there was no significant decrease in water level there, operation spokesperson R Susngi said giving details of the operation on the 21st day of the disaster.
Work started at 10.30 am and the decrease in water level in the adjacent mine was only 16 inch as reported by the officer in-charge of Odisha Fire Service during the closer of the pump at 5.10 pm.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Thursday a plea seeking urgent steps to rescue the 15 miners.
The matter was mentioned on Wednesday for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul which agreed to hear the matter on Thursday. The PIL filed by advocate Aditya N Prasad also sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities concerned to prepare a standard operating procedure for rescue operations in “mines and other similar conditions”.
The plea, filed through advocate Astha Sharma, sought directions to the Centre and the state to utilise the services of the technical wing of the Indian Armed Forces – the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force – in the operation immediately to rescue the miners.
At present, teams from the Odisha Fire and Disaster Service, NDRF and its state counterpart and the Indian Navy are working at the rescue site. Two high-powered water pumps of Coal India Limited arrived on Tuesday evening. According to Susngi, the navy team assisted by the NDRF “will dive tomorrow to check the water level in the main shaft”.
Tata Trust has also offered help with powerful pumps.
Compensation
The interim relief for the 15 coal miners in East Jaintia Hills is ready for disbursement. Rajabala MLA Azad Zaman said as per the deputy commissioner of East Jaintia Hills, the cheques are ready.
The relatives of the coal miners have been asked to come to East Jaintia Hills to take the relief. “We have requested the DC to transfer the relief from there to West Garo Hills as East Jaintia Hills is very far and it will be a problem for them,” Zaman said.
Seven out of the 15 trapped miners were from West Garo Hills.
Earlier, the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission had asked the state government to consider giving interim relief to the relatives.
(With inputs from PTI)
