Shivamogga, Feb 4: Tremors of light intensity were experienced in villages in the vicinity of Varahi hydro-electric project in Hosanagar and Thirthahalli taluks of Shivamogga district in the early hours of Sunday. There were no casualties or damage.
The tremors, measuring 2.2 on the Richter scale, were experienced at 1.33 a.m. Deputy Commissioner K.A. Dayanand said the epicentre was in Vithalanagar village of Thirthahalli.
There was no damage to Mani reservoir, the source of water for Varahi hydro-electric project, and the power generation infrastructure there. The project can generate 469 MW of power, which includes 9 MW from Mani Dam Power House and 460 MW from Varahi Power Station. Engineers from Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. inspected the reservoir and the hydel power generation units.
Asked about the possibility of a stone quarry operating near Vithalanagar and the extraction of sand from riverbanks in the vicinity making the region vulnerable to tremors, Mr. Dayanand said he would seek a report on the matter from the Department of Mines and Geology.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said in a release that it was a “micro tremor” and such incidents were common because of crustal readjustments.
On seeing household objects falling under the impact of the tremor, panic-stricken people ran out of their homes in Megharavalli, Paduvalli, Gardaragadde, and Hanasa villages in Thirthahalli taluk, and in Yadur and surrounding villages in Hosanagar taluk. Thirthahalli and Hosanagar taluks experienced tremors of similar intensity in December 2012.
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