NEW DELHI/ SHILLONG: The Supreme Court will resume hearing of the PIL on the ongoing operation to rescue the trapped miners in Meghalaya on Friday since the bench adjourned it Tuesday.
On the other hand, the role of the Odisha Fire Service came to an end on Tuesday with its services no longer required.
The bench headed by Justice AK Sikri adjourned the case for the weekend since the Solicitor General could not attend the case for the second time on Tuesday.
The Court has been assured that the SG will remain present on Friday.
Deputy Fire Officer, Odisha Fire Service, Satyapir Behera, told The Shillong Times that the twenty-member team will leave for Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
“Our role here has come to an end, and we return home tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said.
The team’s equipment will be sent by road while the personnel will fly to Bhubaneswar from Guwahati.
The team with several pumps had arrived at Ksan in East Jaintia Hills on December 28 to join the rescue operations for the 15 miners trapped in the rat-hole coal mine after water flooded it on December 13.
They were tasked with de-watering the mine where the miners were trapped and subsequently a couple of peripheral mines.
“We go back with mixed emotions,” Behera said. “Wish all the trapped miners could be traced, but we are also happy that at least one body was recovered,” he said. He added, though, the team was going back richer in experience. “We had never worked in such mines before,” he said.
Behera was also full of praise for the hospitality accorded to the team by the administration during their stay despite severe constraints. “We shall always cherish the memory,” he said.
