Experts visit KRS dam to assess blast threats

Karnataka government has roped in national experts to monitor vibrations due to blasting activities at nearby quarries amid mounting pressure from the mining and quarrying industries to resume operations around the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoir.

The government has committed to ensuring the structural safety of the major dam in South Karnataka.

The state has asked scientists from the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) in Dhanbad, Jharkhand to carry out reconnaissance of the area in a 20-km radius around the dam site on Wednesday and Thursday.

Speaking to DH, a senior official from the Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited (CNNL) confirmed the arrival of experts to carry out the study. Currently, as per the then Mandya Deputy Commissioner’s order in October 2018, mining within the radius of 20 km from the dam site is banned.

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Another official from the Water Resources department, requesting anonymity, told DH that the study is expected to give the government a scientific understanding of the problem and threat to the dam if any. “The department is contemplating to undertake comprehensive studies by way of trial blasting as a part of the investigation to obtain recommendations for regulation of blasting activities taking place in and around KRS dam and nearby villages,” the officer explained.

The scientists and a team of officials from the central institute will visit the area and hold a discussion with the project engineers to understand the problems and other structural threats. Sources in the Water Resource department said that Mines and Geology officials have been consistently pressing to resolve the issue amicably so that the mining activity is reactivated, therefore, restoring revenue generation to the state’s exchequer.