159. Installation and maintenance of mechanical ventilators.
(1)In every below ground coal mine where a booster or auxiliary fan is electrically driven, the drive motor, unless it is so constructed, installed, operated and maintained as to prevent the risk of open sparking, shall not be placed in a return airway.(2)The installation of every mechanical ventilator and booster fan shall be supervised and controlled by a competent person appointed for the purpose.(3)A competent person appointed for maintenance of mechanical ventilator and booster fan shall once at least in every seven days, examine every mechanical ventilator and booster fan in use and shall record the results of such inspec1ion in a bound paged book kept for the purpose.(4)Except in an emergency, no person shall start, stop, restart, remove or in any way alter, repair or interfere with any ventilator or booster fan, except on the written authority of the manager or other official authorised in writing in this behalf.(5)The written authority referred to under sub-regulation (4) shall clearly specify the conditions under which a ventilator or booster fan shall be started, stopped or restarted, the period for which it can be stopped and the procedure for removal, repair, alterations or interference with such fans.(6)Particulars of every alteration and every stoppage including any stoppage beyond control together with the duration thereof, shall be recorded by the competent person appointed under this regulations, in a bound paged book kept for the purpose:Provided that whenever a mechanical ventilator or a booster fan has been stopped for any reason whatsoever, the competent person shall immediately record the time of stoppage in the aforesaid book and send it to the manager or the person authorised in this behalf for his appraisal and such the manager, or the person authorised, or the official, as the case may be, shall sign the entry in the bound paged book in respect of the stoppage, duly signed and dated and return the book to the competent person:Provided further that when the stoppage of mechanical ventilator or a booster fan has been brought to the notice of the official other than the manager or person authorised in this behalf, the said official shall immediately inform the fact in writing to the manager or in his absence to any competent person appointed under this regulation or the official superior to the manager, about such stoppage and the manager or such person or superior official, as the case may be, shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of such information sent to him and shall, without prejudice to the standing order under regulation 160 take such action as may be expedited for the safety of persons employed in the mine and the details of every action thus taken by him shall be recorded in the aforesaid book.(7)The manager or the person authorised or the senior official, referred to in the sub-regulation (6), on being informed or coming to know of the stoppage of a mechanical ventilator or a booster fan, shall decide about disconnecting electric supply to the mine and the extent of such disconnection and the details of such disconnection shall be entered in the bound paged book-kept for the purpose:Provided that in the case of stoppage of the mechanical ventilator or the booster fan, the electrical supply or the other source of drive to any auxiliary fan, if, installed, shall be disconnected immediately by an arrangement of sequence control, or other effective arrangement.(8)In every mine in which a mechanical ventilator is in use, the quantity of air shall, once at least in every 14 days be measured -(i)In every main intake and return airway of every seam or section, as near as practicable to the entrance to the mine;(ii)in every split, as near as practicable to the point at which the split commences;(iii)in every ventilating district, as near as practicable to the point where the air is subdivided at the end of a split and also where it enters the first working place; and(iv)any other point the Regional Inspector may, by an order in writing, specify,and the measurements shall be entered in a bound paged book kept for the purpose:Provided that in a non-fiery seam or a gassy seam of the first degree it shall be sufficient to take the air measurement once in every 30 days.(9)The measurements referred to in sub-regulation (8) shall also be taken and recorded whenever the system of ventilation is so altered as to substantially affect or likely to affect the ventilation of the mine:(10)Every such ventilator or fan shall be in charge of a competent person appointed for the purpose, who shall not be entrusted with any other additional duties which may interfere with his duties as in charge of the ventilator or fan, as the case may be.
