12 houses damaged after buried quarry explosives go off near Bantwal village

MANGALURU: At least 12 houses were damaged after explosives used in stone quarrying went off at Madataka near Vitla Mudnuru village in Bantwal taluk. The houses are at a distance of about 50 metres from where the explosives were buried and the impact of the blast was felt in a 200-metre radius and was heard in five villages. Luckily, there was no loss of life.

For the last 12 years, one Abdul Kunji has been running N S Crusher. About 50 detonators and 100 gelatin sticks were buried on land belonging to the Malaraya Moovar Devangal temple near the quarry. But due to the intense heat, the explosives went off, leading to cracks in house wall, broken windows and ripped apart asbestos sheets.

Trees in a 200-metre radius were also affected an on noticing the fire, locals doused it with water. A case has been registered at the Vitla police station for illegal and reckless stockpiling of explosives and the machinery at the crusher unit have been seized.

Police superintendent Yatish N said, “The explosives were buried and the crusher unit staff had gone for lunch when the explosion occurred due to the heat, damaging nearby houses. We have registered a case for negligence and will take legal action. We will forward the public complaints regarding the quarry to the authorities concerned”.

Panchayat member Suchayathi said, “The crusher unit has been functioning for the last 12 years with permit. We never knew that they keep explosives buried, we had not received any complaints. If we had, we could have taken action earlier. The panchayat will issue notice to the quarry owner and we will shut it down temporarily. We will raise the issue at the general body meeting on Thursday”.