Months before the war of words broke out between Sumalatha, Mandya MP, and the JD(S) leaders over the safety of KRS reservoir, which is considered to be the lifeline of thousands in Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the Irrigation Department had invited a team of experts from Dhanbad-based Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), to study the impact of quarrying on the dam.
The team, which had already inspected the dam and the quarries during a site visit, were scheduled to carry out trial blasts at different locations in the vicinity of the dam.
“But, last month, they wrote to us informing that they were unable to make the visit due to COVID-19. They will let us know the next date soon,” said an official of the Irrigation Department.
To conduct the trial blasts, experts from the CSIR institute will select quarries based on their distance from the dam, which will be “nearby, at intermediate distance and far away”. While the blasts will be conducted at the quarry sites, instruments will be placed at the dam to study the vibrations. A report will be submitted based on it.
Prior to engaging the CIMFR, the department had also invited teams from Central Water and Power Research Station (PWPRS), Pune, and National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM).
The PWPRS team had visited the dam after the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) sent a report to the State government on tremors felt near the dam due to quarrying in September 2018. Subsequently, trial blasts by the PWPRS team were planned during the regime of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, but were cancelled after farmers’ organisations had opposed the move on the grounds that the exercise was a threat to the dam.
The proposed trial blasts by CIMFR, however, is expected to be monitored by the district administration of Mandya, including Deputy Commissioner and officials from Mining, Revenue and Police Departments, the Irrigation Department official said.
Building material
The quarries in Mandya supply building material like M-Sand and crushed stone for construction activities in Mysuru, Mandya. and Kodagu districts, besides the ongoing Bengluru-Mysuru highway work.
