Tumkuru (Karnataka), Jul 5 (IANS): The Mines and Geology Minister of Karnataka, Murugesh R. Nirani, said on Monday that there is no leakage of any sort in the Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) dam built across Cauvery river in Srirangapattana in Mandya district.

On the sidelines of reviewing the works of his department here, Nirani told reporters that there is no leakage of any sort in the dam.

"We have banned all mining activities within 10 km radius of the dam. A mining activity was noticed some time ago at Baby 'Betta' (hill) in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district. It has been stopped now. I can confidently say that there no mining activity is going on around the KRS dam," Nirani said.

"Our department is constantly keeping a vigil on any mining activity that is going on in the vicinity of the KRS dam," he said.

The KRS dam is one of the oldest structures in the state. The gravity dam was made of surkhi mortar below the confluence of Cauveri river with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha in Mandya district.

The foundation stone for the dam was laid on November 11, 1911. The dam was built across the Cauveri river in 1924. It is the main source of water for Mysuru and Mandya districts, and a large part of Bengaluru. The water is also used for irrigation in these two districts.

The water released from this dam flows into Tamil Nadu and is stored in the Mettur dam in Salem district.