Already facing repeated incidents of elephant attacks, the residents of Hebbanahalli near Belagodu in Sakleshpur taluk now have another problem at hand. They are worried about the safety of their houses, thanks to an underground tunnel, which is part of the Yettinahole project. A few houses in the village have developed cracks following the high-intensity blasts conducted for the tunnel.
As part of the Yettinahole project, which takes water from the Western Ghats to dry areas in Kolar, Chikkaballapur and other districts, an underground tunnel (1.12 km) is being constructed at Hebbanhalli. During the blasts, the residents felt vibrations. Gradually, walls have developed cracks, leaving residents worried.
A couple of months ago, a portion of the tunnel collapsed, forcing the contractor to take up large-scale excavation work in the village to trace the location of the damage to the tunnel.
Man-animal conflict
A couple of earthmovers are engaged in digging the ground day and night, while a dozen trucks carry the excavated soil. The excavated site resembles a mining pit. The residents are worried that such massive works would intensify man-elephant conflict in the region. Recently, two people were killed in an elephant attack in the neighbouring Belur taluk.
When The Hindu visited Hebbanahalli on March 14, the residents said at least 13 houses had been damaged due to the Yettinahole project work. However, officials refuted the claims of 11 families. According to the district administration, only two houses were affected.
Savitha and Lokesh, whose house has developed cracks, said that before beginning construction of their home, they had consulted the people connected with the project to know if there would be any damage to their house. “They asked us to go ahead assuring us that there would be no damage. But now, the walls have developed cracks, forcing us to stop the work. The project officials have offered us ₹10 lakh as compensation while we have already spent ₹20 lakhs,” Savitha told The Hindu.
Rosy and Ramesh, whose house also suffered damage, have been assured a compensation of ₹24 lakh for the house and the land acquired for the project. “We stayed in the same house when they dug up a tunnel deep below our house. Now, they have assured us compensation and asked us to vacate the place. How can we leave the place unless we get the compensation,” asked Ms. Rosy. She complained that she had been running from pillar to post to get the compensation.
Besides these two families, the rest have no clue about compensation for the damage to their property.
Effect on borewells
The residents are worried that they would face many other kinds of problems in the days to become because of the tunnel and the excavation work.
“Nowadays, my borewell is not pumping sufficient amount of water as it did earlier. We suspect that the underground tunnel has impacted the borewells. We may face difficulty in getting drinking water due to the Yettinahole project, which aims to carry water to people in distant places,” said Mani, a resident of Hebbanahalli.
Hassan Deputy Commissioner R. Girish told mediapersons that a portion of the tunnel had collapsed, forcing engineers to consult experts at the National Institute of Technology in Suratkal. The experts opined that the tunnel was not feasible in that stretch. They had suggested a concrete lining.
“Only two houses were affected. Officials have taken measures to shift them to safer places after paying compensation through the contractors,” he said.
However, the residents said that none had got the compensation so far and damage was not limited to two houses.
