Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jun 14: Although a protective wall built next to the new vented dam at Thumbay built at a cost of about Rs 75 crore had crumbled over a year back, it has not been reconstructed. If the wall crashes further, the new dam, generator room, transformer and pump house may face peril.

The protective wall in question was built on one side of the new dam to save the mud from the embankment bordering the river from collapsing. The wall, built of laterite stones, suffered crash at the spot where the strainer of the pump located between the old and new dam is located. The fallen wall was temporarily protected by stacking bags filled with sand to half of its height. The city corporation had said that the protective wall would be repaired during the summer but this was not done. There are chances of the protective wall crashing and landslide happening at the spot. During the next some days as the water level goes up, the mud might turn softer, triggering landslide.

File photo

Although the new dam was said to have been a quality product, the fact that concrete has peeled off, exposing the iron rods inside at several places, has given rise to apprehension about the concrete getting washed away in the coming days and endangering the supporting pillars of the dam. This stands as clear example for the apathy of the city corporation which turns panicky when the water level goes down, instead of undertaking important and urgent works on priority basis.

City corporation commissioner, B H Narayanappa, said that a proposal to undertake protective wall works had been sent to the government but no grant was released. He said that the work can be undertaken only after the monsoon season. He reasoned that the protective wall gave way as it was built straight instead of slanting position in which case the base would be wide so that it could have withstood force of water.