Farmers gathered at KRS reservoir near here in the wake of the arrival of a team of experts from Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) in Dhanbad to prepare the ground for proposed trial blasts in the vicinity of the reservoir.
Several farmers gathered at the entrance of Brindavan Gardens at KRS reservoir under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and shouted slogans to protest the proposed trial blasts. Melukote MLA Darshan Puttannaiah and KRRS leader Badagalapura Nagendra also joined the protestors.
A team of experts from CIMFR had arrived at KRS reservoir to conduct a preliminary inspection of a site at Bebi Hills in Pandavapura taluk for conducting trial blasts.
The farmers representatives including Darshan and Badagalapura Nagendra held talks with officials of the Irrigation Department and the expert team and sought clarifications on the High Court order on conducting trial blasts. They registered their strong protests against huge blasts as part of their exercise as it could pose a threat to the KRS reservoir.
After the meeting, Mr. Puttannaiah said the officials were unable to produce any copy of the High Court directions on holding trial blasts. He said the farmers were under the impression that the High Court, which had banned all mining and allied activities in a radius of 20 km from KRS reservoir, had also issued orders to conduct trial blasts. “But, we now understand that there is no such order by the High Court,” he said, adding that the government advocate had only requested for trial blasts to be held to assess the impact of blasts on KRS reservoir.
Hence, in the absence of any directions from the High Court to hold trial blasts, any move by the district administration to conduct such trial blasts will be violative of the High Court Order, Mr. Darshan said.
Mr. Nagendra later told The Hindu that farmers were suspicious of the government’s intentions to hold trial blasts. The trial blasts may only be an excuse for the district administration build a case that blasts do not pose a threat to the reservoir and thereby remove the restrictions on mining.
He said the committee constituted under the Dam Safety Act of 2021 should have taken steps to ensure the safety of the dam.
He recalled that the farmers had similiarly sent away a team of experts from CIMFR in Dhanbad, Jharkand, two years ago.
