There is no blueprint for the Meghalaya coal mine which could help Navy divers rescue the 15 miners trapped inside, the Centre's law officer told the Supreme Court on Friday. The revelation comes a day after the Court rapped the Centre about the delay in rescuing the miners who have been trapped there since December 13.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was apprising the Court about the challenging ground realities of the rescue mission in East Jaintia Hills. "This mine is like a 355 ft-deep well, almost resembling a 20-storey building. It cannot be visualized and there is no blueprint," Mehta said. "Those employed to excavate coal, go down deep and dig sideways when they find coal. Thus, there is a maze of rathole mines."
Comparing the mission to the one undertaken in Thailand to rescue 13 boys and their coach from a cave after 18 days, the Solicitor General informed the bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer that those divers had a blueprint of the cave structure and there were air pockets between rocks. In Meghalaya's case, both things are missing.
To make matters worse, water from the nearby Letein River is constantly seeping in.
Despite best efforts to flush it out of the mine, it is hindering the Navy divers and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel camping there.
Pumps flush out 1,800 litres of water every minute, but an equal measure seeps in as the mine is situated 11 feet below the river level. The maze spreads over five square kilometres and is usually submerged after the monsoons. Thus water from connecting mines will have to be pumped out simultaneously to reach the miners.
Though the Bench acknowledged the sincerity of the efforts, senior advocate Anand Grover, who represented the petitioner, cited media reports that said enough pumps and generators have not been employed.
Grover demanded a site inspection by a Court-appointed commissioner, but the bench dismissed the request, placing full faith in the Navy, NDRF and Coal India officials present at the spot.
It directed the Centre to file a status report on the action taken by Monday.