Mysore/Mysuru: A team of scientists from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CSIR-CIMFR) yesterday visited the stone and granite mining areas in Mandya District to study the impact of mining activities on the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam. The team studied the vibrations caused due to blasting activities of nearby quarries. 

The CSIR-CIMFR Office is located at Dhanbad in Jharkhand and routinely takes up multi-disciplinary research on mechanisation and automation of mining activities with the state-of-the-art technologies in mining industry. The team comprised Dr. C. Sawmliana, Senior Principal Scientist and Rakesh Kumar Singh, Senior Technical Officer. The team arrived in Mandya on Tuesday evening and stayed at stayed at the KRS Guest House. 

The team inspected the crushing units at a radial distance of 20 kilometres from the KRS Dam to ascertain the mining impact on the Dam structure following complaints that the 90-year-old Dam structure is endangered due to rampant mining. The two-member team also inspected mining sites at Neelanakoppal in Srirangapatna taluk, Baby Betta in Pandavapura taluk and Bannangadi mining areas.

Mounting pressure from mining lobby

The Karnataka State Natural Disasters Monitoring Committee (KSNDMC) had recommended Mandya District Administration to check damages and fractures in the Dam structures in the wake of high-intensity blasts in the mining areas around the Dam. Following the recommendation, mining was banned in 20-km radius of the Dam in 2018 but the ban was frequently violated by some crushers. 

Sources told Star of Mysore that technical team’s visit comes in the wake of mounting pressure from the mining and quarrying industries to resume blasting operations. Though the Government has not agreed to the demand by miners, it has now decided to seek expert opinion as any damage to the Dam will bear serious consequences. 

A scientific perspective

The CSIR-CIMFR study will give the Government a scientific perspective of the problem and if there are any threats to the Dam. During the team’s visit, the Water Resources Department was mulling to start trial blast to actually investigate to what extent the vibrations occur and in what radius of the Dam. However, Mandya Deputy Commissioner S. Ashwathi told reporters that the decision on trial blasts would be taken later. 

The scientist will interact with officials from the Department of Mines and Geology, KRS Engineers and officials from the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) who manage the Dam to examine if there are any structural threats to the Dam due to mining. 

Soil samples collected

Senior Geologist and Deputy Director of Mines and Geology Department T.V. Pushpa briefed the scientist team about the distance of quarries from the Dam, intensity of the blasts, number of quarries operating in Srirangapatna and Pandavapura. The team collected soil samples after digging earth from the quarry sites and had discussion with CNNL officers including Superintending Engineer Vijay Kumar about the possibility of cracks developing in the Dam structure. 

It may be recalled here that experts from The Institution of Engineers (India) Mysuru Chapter had warned that any damage, howsoever minimal, to the structure of KRS Dam, or disturbance of the geological structure on which KRS Dam is founded, may cause service failure (structural fissures/ cracks, or leakage below the foundation) and adversely affect its capacity to store water, or even its structural stability.