Experts’ Committee prohibits rock-blasting, quarrying activities

Head of Committee rules out threat to assets

By Sandun A Jayasekera

 The 11- member expert committee that made a survey in the area, among other measures, has recommended to prohibit rock blasts, limestone and other quarrying activities of the surrounding area of the Victoria Dam.   

The recommendations came ensuring that the people in the hill country, their assets, the Victoria Dam or the geological composition of Sri Lanka would not come under any threat from the Seismic Tremors experienced in the Central Province in the last couple of months,  

 Head of the Expert Committee and the Chairman of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB)- Anura Walpola handed its report to Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on Monday morning.   

Mr. Walpola told the media that the tremors posed no risk at all to any assets or living things as the magnitude of them were less than .2 in the Richter Scale.   
“Such of micro seismic activities occur in millions in the earth annually. They are not earth quakes and pose no threats to anyone,” he added.   

The report also recommended for the deploying of a dense short period seismic network to monitor natural and anthropogenic micro seismic activities, in addition to accelerometers already installed at the sites of the dam and Seismic Micro Zonation Mapping with reference to dam safety and building safety. 

 
A detailed structural geological mapping and geophysical surveys with the instrumentation of micro-gravity, Magneto Telluric and other necessary technologies around the area were also recommended. 

• Tremors posed no risk at all to any assets or living things as the magnitude of them were less than .2 in the Richter Scale.