Daltonganj, Oct. 31: The Malaya dam built near Satbarwa in 1980 may collapse any day due to graphite mining in its vicinity. Despite water resources department lodging an FIR against mine leaseholders at Satbarwa police station last year, the mining work has not stopped.

The 94.5-feet-high dam was constructed at a cost of Rs 5.05 crore. Engineers in the department said mining operations may lead to the collapse of the wall of the dam any time, wreaking havoc in the area.

Superintending engineer of the dam Brijendra Prasad Singh said deep holes should not be dug within a 1,000 feet from the dam, but mining work is progressing barely 275 feet from the dam, which is in gross violation of rules.

The engineer said: “What is going on here is illegal. The leaseholders are carrying out blasting operations near the dam.

This can cause irreparable damage to the structure. The lease holders do not have licence to use explosives.” Executive engineer Lakhan Prasad said continuous mining operations had created deep craters near the dam.

“The moment water in any of the mine cavities and that in the dam mingles, the flow of the water cannot be checked,” he said. Sources in the district mining office said the lease for graphite mining had been given to two companies.

Former president of Chhotanagpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, K.K. Poddar, has been operating mines in the area since 1990.

The other leaseholder is Calcutta-based Orissa Manganese and Mineral Private Limited. Poddar said the water resources department was “in the habit of raising the issue every now and then”.