This is the moment Lilaghar river in central India changed its course and plunged into a huge open-pit coal mine on September 29 In a stunning environmental disaster.<br /><br />Officials acted to evacuate an unspecified number of workers on time but were unable to save any of the heavy machinery in the huge pit.<br /><br />It will take two to four months to pump out water and restore the Dipka coal mine, said officials. <br /><br />Dipka coal mine, situated in Korba district of Chattisgarh state, is one of the four larg coal mines managed by South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a government-owned corporation. <br /><br />The dramatic flooding of the mine was filmed by various members of a non-profit organisation Chattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), who rushed to the spot, on getting the information from local villagers. <br /><br />Villagers said it had been raining heavily in Korba district since a week fuelling the Lilaghar river. <br /><br />The swollen river shifted course, broke embankments built to protect the mine and plunged into the pit, they said. <br /><br />Alok Shukla of CBA said mining had altered the flood plains of the Lilaghar river. <br /><br />“Deforestation, accumulation of silt and excavation have diverted the natural flow of the river. The heavy rain led to the disaster, which may recur regularly from now on,” he said. <br /><br />“Reckless mining has polluted and affected seven to eight rivers in Chattisgarh. A similar disaster is waiting to happen in Raigarh district with Kelo river,” he warned.
