Mandya: The Stone Crusher Owners and Quarry Operators Association of Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district claimed that their mining activities in Baby Betta and adjoining areas are not a threat to Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam.

Speaking to reporters at Mandya yesterday, Association President Krishnappa condemned the District Administration reported move on banning mining activities around 20 kms of KRS Dam. He said as many as 24 members of the Association  have been carrying out their mining activities abiding by the rules and regulations of Mines and Geology Department without causing any damage to KRS Dam and its surrounding areas.

The National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM), a premier centre for research in applied and basic rock mechanics of the country, had cautioned the District Administration not to carry out any stone quarry and mining around 8 kms radius of KRS Dam. However, the stone quarry operators are carrying out their activities abiding by the guidelines of NIRM without using high intensity blasts.

Krishnappa said that they have been carrying out their   quarries operation within permissible limits of vibrations around the stone quarrying while extracting stones through the process of blasting. The recent reports that the mining activities were damaging the KRS Dam were not true. Moreover, KRS region falls under monolith stone zone layer and there will be no much threat from this massive rock stone underneath.     

Welcoming the announcement of the District Administration decision of constitution of Task Force Committee to prepare a detailed comprehensive report to check the damages caused by mining activities around KRS, Krishnappa said that Association was ready to give all cooperation to the Govt. to put an end to illegal stone quarrying and mining around KRS, but it shouldn’t                                 stop legal mining.

The District Administration may take any action on quarry operators who are using high intensity blasts. As many as 40,000 labourers, including owners, are engaged directly and indirectly in this stone quarry business in the taluk, the livelihood of these people will be affected if the District Administration stuck to its stand of banning mining activities, he said.