A 39-metre long shaped crack at Manchikere in Yembattu Badagabettu Gram Panchayat near Manipal generated fear among the residents here on Friday. The crack is in a “V” shape.
One crack which runs from East to West is 15 metres long, while another which runs from North-East to South West is 24 metres long. One of these cracks passes through a dry well and is more visible. At two places, the laterite soil can also be seen.
This is the second time a crack has appeared in Manchikere. A 90-metre long crack had occurred near the Second Cross Road at Manchikere on July 2, this year.
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Jagadish Shetty, who works in a laundry shop, was the first to notice the crack near his house. The well is located close to his house. He said that at around 7.15 a.m., he heard a small sound and some vibration. “It was then that I saw a crack appearing in a curved line. I was frightened and called out to my neighbours,” he said.
His neighour Lokesh Devadiga, who works as a computer operator at Manipal University, said: “While I was surprised to see the crack, I was not frightened as a crack had appeared in this area six months back.”
Vittal Amin, Vice President of Yembattu Badagabettu Gram Panchayat, said that there were nearly 300 houses in the area. People were frightened about these cracks appearing in the area. “The district administration should inform the people of the villages why these cracks are appearing,” he said.
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Meanwhile, government officials and geologists inspected the spot. Udupi Tahsildar T.J. Guruprasad said that the residents of two houses near the crack had been told to shift to some other place for two days as a precautionary measure.
GEOLOGISTS’ VIEWS
But geologists have differing views on the cracks. A.M. Niranjan, senior geologist, Department of Mines and Geology, said that a minor seismic activity might have taken place in the area resulting in the crack.
“There is a weak zone from Malpe to Agumbe. It will be better if the government installed a seismometer in the district so that such minor tremors could be monitored. We have already sent a proposal to the government for a seismic station. Seismic codes must be made compulsory for all buildings in the region,” he said.
GROUNDWATER ACTIVITY
However, H.N. Udayashankar, Professor in Geology, Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) said that laterite rock caving due to groundwater activity was common. There were ancient caves in Manchikere. Water was being stored in the Mannupalla Lake in Manipal over the last five years. The spring in this lake might be flowing towards Manchikere. The laterite rock caving had increased due to this flow.
As a result, the roof of the Manchikere caves too was collapsing. Many high-rise buildings were coming up in the Manipal-Manchikere belt. “No high-rise buildings should be permitted in this belt until a proper scientific study is carried out,” he said.