The director personnel of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Vinay Ranjan, on Friday inaugurated a mine pit water treatment plant at Kumbardubi colliery in Mugma area of ECL, around 30km from Dhanbad.

The plant will supply filtered and treated mine pit water to more than 5,000 families of ECL employees and adjoining villages. The Rs 23-lakh plant has an installed capacity of 5,000 litres per hour.

Ranjan, who inaugurated the facility by switching on the plant in the presence of ECL general manager (personnel), V.K. Srivastava, and general manager of Mugma area, Vibhash Chandra Singh, said: “The plant will ensure effective use of mine pit water, which otherwise goes waste.”

“This is the third treatment plant for mine pit water of its kind in Mugma, as ECL has installed similar plants in Baijna colliery and Gopalpura colliery earlier,” said Ranjan, adding that similar plants will be established in other parts of the Mugma area.

Area secretary of Indian National Trade Union Congress Sashi Bhushan Tiwari, who was at the inaugural ceremony, said: “We welcome the new plant. It will solve the drinking water crisis in Kumbardubi colliery area and its adjoining areas such as Taldanga and Ganaza Gali.”

Residents of these localities were so far dependent on untreated water from river Barakar supplied through pipeline.

The first mine pit water treatment plant of ECL in Mugma was established in Gopalpura colliery in 2017 spending Rs 25 lakh to supply treated water to six villages.