DIMA HASAO: After Saturday’s success in bringing down the water level at the flooded coal mine in Assam and the recovery of three more bodies, efforts to drain out all water to enable the search for at least five more miners who are still missing have met with setbacks as water from the nearby aquifer has filled the quarry, officials said on Monday.
“We have been dewatering the mine round the clock using nine traditional pumps. But while the water level had gone down initially, it has not decreased since Saturday. It appears that water is entering the mine from some nearby source,” informed GD Tripathi, CEO of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Additionally, six more pumps were brought in from Guwahati on Monday. Three of them have been installed and are operating; the process to install the other three is underway. Apart from them, six other pumps are being used for dewatering nearby mines from where water is suspected of entering the one where the mishap took place.
An NDRF official stated, “Since Sunday, the water level in the quarry has increased again, despite the continuous dewatering efforts. On Monday, till 5 pm, there were around 29 metres of water (around 95 feet) in the well.”
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