Revenue Minister R. Ashok visited Gadikeshwar village in Chincholi taluk, Kalaburagi district, which has been hit by frequent tremors in the last couple of weeks, on Tuesday.
Interacting with the people who were apparently frightened by the frequent tremors, the Minister assured them of discussing the issue of rehabilitation with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and taking a decision on constructing safe sheds for them.
“Taking note of the frequent earthquakes in Gadikeshwar and surrounding villages in Chincholi and Kalagi taluks, scientists of National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) from Hyderabad have put up a seismometer in Gadikeshwar. The instrument will record the earth’s motion during earthquakes and send the information directly to the institute’s headquarters in Hyderabad. The scientists will then study data for a month and submit a report to the government. Based on their recommendations, the government will take steps for rehabilitation,” the Minister said.
In an effort to infuse confidence among the tremor-hit villagers, Mr. Ashok told the people not to panic in the face of the low-intensity tremors.
“The region has received good rainfall in the last two-three years. As per scientists, the tremors are caused by chemical reaction caused by limestone and heavy water. People need not worry,” he said.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the people, the Minister said that that the district administration has already opened relief centres. And, the government will pay a compensation of ₹50,000 to the residents whose houses have developed cracks due to tremors.
“Ours is a government that is sensitive to people’s problems. We take care of your requirements. The district administration has already opened relief centres and I have directed it to open more such centres, if required. We will pay compensation for the houses that have been damaged or destroyed. There is no dearth of funds for the purpose. Everything will be taken care of under the disaster management funds,” Mr. Ashok said. He handed over cheque for ₹50,000 to a few people whose houses were damaged in the tremors.
A few residents asked the Minister to get individual sheds with lighter material built in front of each house so that people can stay there safely.
Seismologist from National Geophysical Research Institute Shashidhar said that the tremors recorded in the region recently are of low intensity. Such tremors are recorded widespread across the globe every day and people need not panic. The earth’s layers in the region are made of limestone and the region has received good rainfall in the past few years. Such kind of tremors and the strange sounds from within the earth are common as they are caused by chemical reaction of limestone and water.
Lok Sabha member from Kalaburagi Umesh Jadhav, legislators Rajkumar Patil Telkur and B.G. Patil, Karnataka Disaster Management Authority Commissioner Manoj Rajan, Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jyothsna, Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat Dileesh Sasi, Additional Deputy Commissioner Shankar Vanikyal, Assistant Commissioner Mona Roat and others were present.
Mr. Ashok later visited Hosalli (H) and Korvi villages that have also been recorded tremors and interacted with the people there.
