No threat to ancient Ramappa temple

WARANGAL: Scientists of the National Geological Research Institute (NGRI) and Nagpur Mining and Research Institute (NMRI) who conducted tests to assess the damage to the 800-yr-old Ramappa temple at Palampet village in Venkatapuram mandal due to Devadula tunnel blasts, have declared that the blasts pose no threat to the temple.In a report submitted to the government recently, a team of experts clarified that the authorities could continue tunnel works but directed them to reduce the intensity of the blasts. As part of the third phase of Devadula project, authorities have been carrying out blasts in the tunnel near Palampeta village. Following the tunnel explosions, local politicians, educationists and other civil society groups began protesting, claiming that the blasts posed a threat to the historical Rammapa temple.Reacting to this, the government directed tunnel authorities to stall the works and had requested NGRI scientists to assess whether the blasts posed threat to the temple. The tunnel works have been stopped temporarily from the last three months. Experts from NGRI along with Central Mines and Fuel Research Institute (CIMFR), Rock Acceleration and Mining Engineering department, IIIT- Hyderabad and NIT- Warangal have been conducting detailed study on the temple for the past two months.As part of their study, the team of experts conducted blasts in three phases from Sept 28 to 30 to examine the impact.They used equipment like the Richter scale and geo-phones to measure the impact of tremors of the explosions. There is no threat to Ramappa temple due to tunnel explosions, said Prof Panduranga Rao. "The temple is located 650 metres to one kilometre away from blast site and therefore, has no impact on the temple. However, Prof. Rao said that the amount of explosives used for the blasts should not exceed 50 kg. "If the intensity of explosions exceeds the specifications, the blast’s impact would be felt," Rao warned. According to them, a maximum of 25 kg explosives should be used for construction of pump house near Ramappa reservoir.