Mallannasagar earthquake theory baseless, says Telangana govt

Hyderabad: The Telangana Irrigation Department officials rejected the theory of earthquake and claim that Mallannasagar is safe and there are no chances of earthquake.

According to the irrigation department, all the necessary studies has been done before starting the project in Siddipet.

Mallannasagar was inaugurated by the state chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao last Wednesday. The project, according to the state government, will provide water to 8.35 lakh acres of new ayacut under KLIS Package-12 to 19, along with stabilising the ayacut under existing irrigation projects such as Singur, Nizam Sagar and Sriram Sagar phase-1, which will propel the total ayacut under the project to 15.71 lakh acres.

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Mallannasagar detractors stated that the reservoir’s placement was dangerous due to the presence of underlying lineaments.

A reservoir with a capacity of 50 TMC and a standing water column to a height of roughly 60 metres would generate tremors in the reservoir region, causing serious damage to people and properties around the lake if it broke, detractors warned, citing the Koyna dam in Maharashtra, where standing water in the reservoir caused tremors to occur in 1967.

Officials refute claims of earthquake

According to a Telangana Today report, the officials said that earthquake theory was a baseless allegation. The government had the bottom strata of Mallannasagar studied by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune, which ruled out the existence of lineaments, as stated by opponents.

Prior to the CWPRS’s comprehensive sub stratum assessment, WAPCOS, a Central government organisation that issued a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Kaleshwaram project, conducted reconnaissance and LiDAR surveys in and around the reservoir site.

According to the official, drilling data taken from hundreds of boreholes drilled on the dam line and within the submergence region did not disclose any lineaments or loose stratum in the reservoir area.

Before finalising the plans of the Mallannasagar earth dam, they had thoroughly investigated the issues experienced in the design and construction of very high earthen dams.

In terms of earthquake history, Telangana has no record of earthquakes or tremors.

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