Lapping stones on Upper Bhadra project wall collapse

The collapsing of lapping stones on the walls built alongside the canal near Hebbur village have raised questions on the quality of the work under Upper Bhadra project in Ajjampura.

Alleging poor quality of work, villagers of Hebbur are suspecting the misuse of large amounts of funds in the project.

The Upper Bhadra project is aimed at supplying water to various districts.

The canal passes through river Bhadra. But, the stones on both sides of the wall have collapsed in various places, even before the completion of the project. The soil beneath the wall and the road could possibly cave in.

The incident has raised speculations over the quality of work under Upper Bhadra project, which is one of the ambitious programmes of the government. If this is the situation during the rainy season, what would happen when a large quantity of water is released from Bhadra river, ask villagers.

The collapse of stones on the protective wall would lead to the caving in of soil in the upper portion of the wall.

If the soil caves in, the canal will be blocked, resulting in the loss of road connection between the religious place of interest, ‘Vibhuti Gudlu’, and hundreds of acres of agricultural lands. People or cattle walking on the road may end up falling into a 15-20 meter deep canal if the road above the canal caves in.

The villagers are hesitating to use the road after the collapse of the lapping stones.

Rajanna, a farmer from Hebbur village said that the collapse of lapping stones shows the poor quality of work.

Hebbur Gram Panchayat member Nagendrappa said that the poor quality of work by contractors and the failure of officials in supervising the work are evident. The people are disillusioned. Senior officials should visit the spot and initiate action against those who are responsible for the poor quality of work. The wall should be reconstructed, he added.