A breach in the embankment of Slurry Pond No. 5 at Central Coalfields Limited’s Kathara Washery in Bokaro has sent a large quantity of coal slurry towards the Damodar river over the past two to three days, raising concerns about water pollution after heavy rain.
The breach reportedly occurred on Wednesday evening when rainwater flowed out after part of the embankment gave way. CCL officials reached the site after receiving information, while the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board began looking into the incident. Vivek Kujur, regional officer of the board’s Dhanbad region, confirmed that the matter was being examined.
Around 30,000 tonnes of slurry coal had been stored in the pond, according to the report. Slurry Pond No. 5 was the last such pond at the Kathara Washery and was used to collect slurry and water discharged from the coal-washing process.
The accumulated material had remained at the site for years. CCL sources said private firms had earlier used the pond to produce briquette coal from slurry, but that activity stopped around 2010. Slurry generated by the washery subsequently continued to accumulate and could not be cleared.
Workers at the site said the water level in the pond had been rising and that seepage beneath the embankment had reportedly been noticed during the preceding days. Continuous heavy rainfall is believed to have increased pressure on the structure before the breach occurred. The reported flow has raised concerns about the movement of coal waste and contaminated water into the Damodar river system.
The incident places attention on the condition and long-term management of industrial waste ponds attached to coal-processing facilities. The pond was designed to hold slurry and washery discharge, but the stoppage of slurry-recovery activity left stored material in place for years, according to CCL sources cited in the report.
CCL Kathara area general manager AKB Singh inspected the damaged section and directed project officials to plug the breach immediately and prevent further discharge. Repair work began on Thursday morning, with overburden-removal stones being dumped into the damaged stretch and compacted with dozers to rebuild the embankment.
Officials said their immediate priority was to seal the breach and stop more slurry and water from reaching the river. The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board is examining the matter, while repair teams continue work at the washery site.
