Sir,

This refers to several news items published in Star of Mysore on the issue of the development of cracks in KRS Dam raised by Mandya MP Sumalatha. Despite criticism against her that she is unnecessarily creating a scare about development of cracks, she has stuck to her statement. The Government officials of the Mining Department have been reported to fumble and not been able to answer categorically to the searching questions she has raised.

In fact, whatever be the merits or otherwise of the question on the cracks, many ugly details like unauthorised blasting, authorities being deaf to the complaints by people and the Government failure in not collecting the royalty running into hundreds of crores of rupees have been unearthed.

The news about live gelatin sticks dumped reveals that things are not straight as it seems (Live gelatin sticks dumped near Bebi Betta quarry — SOM dated July 18).

In this connection, I would like to mention that when the Outer Ring Road was being constructed in some stretches, blasting had to be done to excavate in rocky areas. It created cracks in the houses. I inspected the spot and gave a report of my findings on behalf of Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP). Then instructions were issued to do control-blasting.

Therefore, unregulated blasting creates seismic-like condition generating ground vibrations and noise that may disturb the foundation. The work of blasting needs to be strictly supervised. Before that, it requires detailed investigations by competent authorities using sophisticated instruments to pronounce authoritatively to give opinion to allay fears, for the Dam is already more than 90 years old and is very important to ensure its safety.

– H.R. Bapu Satyanarayana, Retired Chief Engineer, Saraswathipuram, 21.7.2021

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