Navy team leader, NDRF personnel enters mine shaft to ascertain water level
Lumthari (Meghalaya), Dec 30 : A team leader from the Indian Navy and NDRF personnel went inside a 370-foot-deep mine, where 15 miners are trapped, to ascertain the water level inside on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
The Navy divers and their equipment arrived at the site around 1.30 pm Sunday after which the Navy personnel started measuring the actual level of the water in the mine shaft.
The 10 pumps brought by the rescue team from Odisha have been kept on standby. Meanwhile, the divers have also been kept on standby, the officials said.
The Navy wanted to ascertain the water level as their divers can operate up to 100 feet in a closed container-type situation, a district official said.
Nearly 200 rescuers from various agencies are stationed at the site. The Odisha Fire Service team had brought 10 high-powered pumps with them.
East Jaintia Hills district SP Sylvester Nongtynger said that at least two pumps will have to be lowered down to the water level inside the mine shaft to begin the operation.
Odisha Chief Fire Officer S Sethi said his team was tasked with pumping water out and they are ready for the job.
"Our only concern is that if we install the pumps now, the carbon exhaust may suffocate the entire mine shaft," Sethi said.
The remaining eight pumps will be placed at various locations identified in the area, he said.
One high-powered submersible pumps with an output capacity of 500 gallons per minute is arriving Sunday from CIL Ranchi, CIL Kolkata GM A K Bharali said.
Bharali, who arrived here four days ago, said that as soon as the generators and platforms are made available at the mine shaft, the pumping of water will begin.
Five more pumps from CIL Centres in Ranchi, Dhandbad and Asansol are on road and are expected to arrive anytime, he said. A senior district official said a few pumps of Coal India Ltd have arrived in Guwahati and are expected to reach the site soon.
A team of 25 CIL personnel are at the site and survey teams are doing their job, Bharali said.
The miners have been trapped in the mine in the Ksan area of Lumthari village in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district since December 13, after water from the nearby Lytein river gushed into it.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is coordinating the rescue operations with the help of Navy, the NDMA and Coal India Ltd.
"The Navy divers have reported that they have the capacity to go a depth of 100 feet, whereas the NDRF divers can go to a depth of 30 feet," East Jaintia Hills district SP Sylvester Nongtyngerthe said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
