PANJIM: As the monsoon has finally set in with incessant downpour for the last two days, the North District administration has asked the Water Resources Department (WRD) and the mining companies to pump the excess water from the mining pits as a precaution to thwart any possible disaster risk.
In a recent meeting with the officials of the WRD and mining firms, the mamlatdars of mining talukas have been directed to submit weekly reports on the water level to ensure safety precautions are not compromised.
“The authorities concerned were directed to install water pumps in the mining pits to pump out excess water. This is one of the precautionary measures adopted during the monsoon. The experts will also examine the functioning of the pumps and WRD officials are directed to submit to the mamlatdars weekly reports on the level of water. We have already implemented precautionary measures,” said an official. He added that precautionary measures have already been implemented.
The Directorate of Mines & Geology Department will soon conduct a joint inspection to review the preparatory measures to mitigate the risk of disaster in mining areas and to also verify the stability in the mining pits areas. The officer said that the inspection is a regular exercise undertaken by the concerned officials.
WRD has already started fetching water stored in three mining pits including two from Codli Sesa Mines and one from Satone, Dabal, which were later released to the Opa water treatment plant through pipes and canals, last month.
The three pits having a storage capacity of 15 MLD came to the rescue as the water level in the Opa river basin had dipped below the normal limit.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had recently chaired a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority on monsoon preparedness, wherein directions were given to thoroughly inspect all the areas and chalk out necessary precautionary measures accordingly.
