SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 28: Panic prevails among residents after massive subsidence occurred near Dahibadi open cast project in Chanch Victoria colliery area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) under Panchet police station, around 52 km away from district headquarters on Thursday early morning.
The eyewitnesses said that the incident occurred around 5 am. The surface around 500 meters radius near open cast mines caved in with loud sound. A drilling machine also sank in it.
Following subsidence, the electric poles connecting the power supply in open cast mines were also damaged. An official of the colliery told the media that no casualty was reported in the incident.
The colliery agent of the Dahibadi project Prashant Bannerji said that the incident occurred outside the open cast mines at a wee hour on Thursday. The general manager of Chanch Victoria Area PK Mishra would make an official comment over it. The GM did not receive the calls of media persons.
After the incident, people living near the open cast project are in a panic. Neither colliery officials nor senior police officers reached the area after the incident. An official of the colliery said that it is a common incident of colliery which occurs during monsoon season. “People residing near the colliery need to stay alert,” he said.
A similar landslide also occurred on August 10 on the approach road of Basti in the Dahibadi project. The coal officers had issued notice to shift the residents to a safe place.
