Underground colliery operation at Jamadoba under Tata Steel’s Jharia division in Dhanbad, around 145km northeast of Jharkhand capital Ranchi, has been closed for sanitisation after a middle-aged senior officer tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday night at Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur.

Sources in the Jamadoba collieries said the 47-year–old officer had no travel history and was having fever and chest congestion for a few days.

“The official was having fever and chest congestion since June 18 but was reporting to duty. On June 22, he went for check-up at the Jamadoba hospital. The doctor referred him to Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur for Covid-19 test. The report came positive yesterday night,” said the source.

Tata Steel spokesperson, Runa Rajeev Kumar confirmed the temporary suspension of colliery operation at Jamadoba.

“One of our employees from Jharia division at Jamadoba collieries has been tested positive for Covid-19 and as per the guidelines mandated by the health ministry we started the disinfection and sanitization of the areas in and around Jamadoba colliery, where the employee was posted and working. The colliery is temporarily closed for at least two days,” said the company spokesperson.

The spokesperson further said that all contact tracing procedures have been followed and colleagues and other stakeholders who had interacted with the person have been quarantined and being tested as per procedure. No further symptoms or incidents have been reported. The condition of the positive employee is stable.

Significantly, the Jharia division of Tata Steel primarily comprises underground collieries divided into Sijua and Jamadoba collieries and supplies steel grade coal for Tata Steel plant at Jamshedpur.

“The Jamadoba colliery has nearly 600 employees with a production capacity of 0.34 Metric Ton per annum. The two-day closures of the mines would not have much impact on the steel production of the leading steel producer in Asia,” added a company official preferring anonymity.