A land subsidence (cave-in) occurred at Thapar nagar of Nirsa block in Dhanbad, about 45km from the district headquarters, around 10pm on Tuesday, damaging an under-construction railway line of Maithon Power Limited (MPL).

MPL is a joint-venture power company of Damodar Valley Corporation and Tata Power.

A team of officers of Eastern Coalfield Ltd (ECL), Maithon Power Ltd (MPL) and local administration visited the site on Tuesday morning to take stock of the situation and supervise the landfilling work launched by Eastern Coal Fields Ltd.

A portion of railway track being laid for MPL was also damaged, besides two signal cabins.

Land caved in a diameter of seven metre, upto a depth of 15 feet, with a resounding noise.

The Railways has decreased the speed of trains to around 30km per hour as the adjoining grand chord railway line of Eastern Railway is barely 50-100 feet away from the site.

Chief executive officer of MPL, Ramesh Jha, who visited the site, along with senior officials of his company on Tuesday morning, said, “The construction of the railway line for MPL was underway. Prima facie illegal mining seems to be the reason behind the incident.”

Jha said discussions with Eastern Coalfields Ltd Officials and Railway officials are being held and anything conclusive can be said only after a proper inquiry into the incident.

“Saying anything at this juncture will be premature,” added Jha.

The area secretary of the trade union, Indian National Trade Union Congress, Shashi Bhushan Tiwari, said “The incident seems to have taken place due to the illegal mining being carried out in the nearby areas of Eastern Coalfield Mines and the magnitude of the incident has exposed the danger caused due to illegal mining in the area.”

“We demand a proper probe and demand the government to devise a mechanism to engage the residents of the nearby areas for a solution to the illegal mining activities,” said Tiwari.

The sub-divisional officer of Dhanbad, Raj Maheshwaram, said, “The incident is being probed by the ECL management, MPL authorities and Railway officials and the normal operation of trains on the adjoining railway line near the accident site will depend on the findings of the probe.”