4 Institutes roped in to study damage to Hospet

MYSORE: With the Supreme Court recommending a permanent ban on mining within a 2-km radius of ancient Jambunatheshwara Temple, built during the Vijayanagar period near Hospet in Bellary district, the 10-member expert team, led by the Director of State Archaeology and Museums, has decided to take technical assistance from four institutions in the to assess damages caused to the temple by mining activities.The four institutions are: Karnataka Remote Sensing Application Centre (KRSAC), Bangalore, Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, NIT, Suratkal, and INTACH, Bangalore.Dr R Gopal, convener of the SC-appointed committee, asked the heads of all the institutions to submit their report within three weeks.The director of the KRSAC has been asked to submit a detailed report after carrying out total environmental impact and geological studies using remote sensing applications around the temple, while the head of Blasting Department of the CIMFR, has been entrusted with the work of determining the safe blasting parameters to avoid further damage to the temple. The panel has asked the convenor of INTACH, Bangalore, to submit a plan for conservation of the temple.Dr R Gopal, convenor of the expert panel, and Director of Archaeology and Museums, said after receiving the reports from the institutions, “We will submit a comprehensive report to the SC before November 29.”He said, “The committee may suggest to the SC to ban mining within a 2-km radius there permanently.”While hearing a special leave petition filed by K Guruprasad Rao of Hospet on April 4, 2011, a Division Bench of the SC, comprising Justices G S Singhvi and Panicker Radhakrishnan, directed the committee to inspect the area where mining was being carried out.