M'lore Airport Structurally Stable, No Threat from Quarries: B M Ravindra

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SR/CN)

Mangalore, Oct 1: The recent reports on a national news channel regarding the geological instability of Mangalore Airport were brushed aside by B M Ravindra, deputy director, department of Mines & Geology, at a press meet here on Friday October 1.

Addressing the media at the New Terminal of the Bajpe Airport, Ravindra said that Bajpe region is 'structurally stable with a lateritic cover at the top underlain by very hard and fresh unweathered granitic rocks,' capable of withstanding a moderate earthquake of scale 2.

He added that there are a few lateritic quarries in the Adyapadi village, located around 300-400 mts towards the southeast from the airport. The laterite is a surfacial material deposited over a basement of hard and resistant granite rocks in Bajpe airport area. The hard laterite stones are extracted using cutting machines and blades, and not explosives, chemicals or blasts, he assured.

Ravindra also clarified that extraction of laterites was not the reason for landslides. Referring to the studies made in areas like Kethikal, Kadawada and Eliyarapadavu, he said that landslides in the coastal part of the state occur under special geo-environmental conditions which are not found in Bajpe - Adyapadi region.

There are two old granite quarries located at a distance of one km from the airport in the northwest sector, under the Karambar village limits. However, these quarries have posed no threat to the environment in the last thirty years of their operations, nor do they cause any danger to the structural stability of Bajpe airport, he said, rubbishing the media reports on national television.

Among those present were director of Mangalore Airport M R Vasudeva.