Shillong, June 11: East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner, Ethelbert Kharmalki said the rescue teams have to beat the continuous downpour to achieve any breakthrough in rescuing six miners trapped at Krem Ule, Umpleng since May 30.
Talking to The Shillong Times on Friday, Kharmalki lamented that the water level has risen again in the main shaft due to overnight rainfall.
“We were expecting the water level to recede by at least 60 feet but the rain is hampering the efforts,” he said.
The rescue teams consisting of NDRF and SDRF personnel verified the level of the water before resuming dewatering process on Friday morning and found that the mine was filled with 116 feet of water.
About, 2.70 lakh liters of water has been pumped out of the main shaft and another 4.86 lakh liters from the second shaft.
The installation of Kirloskar water pumps was delayed due to the slippery conditions at the site and was completed on Friday evening.
Inspection of coke plants
The East Jaintia Hills district administration will depute magistrates to inquire if coke factories were illegally operating in the district without permission, Kharmalki said on Friday.
An organisation had petitioned Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday alleging that 25 coke factories were operational in the district and a majority of them were illegal.
The district administration is yet to take a call on whether cement or coke factories should be allowed to function during the lockdown or containment period.
