VIJAYAWADA: Authorities of the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri are planning to take up rockfall mitigation works. It may be recalled that a huge boulder, weighing 50 tonnes, had rolled down the hill and crashed on the highway near the tonsuring hall. Four vehicles and a few barricades were damaged in the incident.
Temple authorities cited continuous rainfall as the reason for the landslide. Following the incident, temple officials called for an expert group to study and analyse the damage to the hill. Temple officials will take up the hill strengthening works after finalising tenders. According to sources, the works will be taken up at an estimated cost of more than Rs 1 crore.
Stating that repair works will be taken up from the tonsuring hall to the VIP parking bay up the hill, temple officials said, “The area where the landslide occurred was found to be weak. Any weakness in the portion of the hill can lead to a huge impact on the temple ghat road.”Elaborating, they added, “After studying the damage on the hill and the pattern of the soil, the expert committee has recommended rock and soil nailing.”
Engineering officials explained, “The process of rock nailing is to make a hole in the hill and bond iron bars with cement or special chemical grout to strengthen the hill. As part of soil nailing, loose soil will be removed first and further, all the holes will be filled with shotcrete, a mixture of aggregate and portland cement, primarily on to a vertical or overhead surface.”
Sources added that the officials have finalised the work and tenders will be invited in the first week of November. Works are likely to be completed in a month or two depending on the prevailing circumstances, they added.
In 2021, temple officials had erected a metal fence around the hill and taken up works with Rs 4 crore to prevent landslides during the rainy season as boulders rolled down and fell on a shed near Mouna Swamy temple atop Indrakeeladri minutes before Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was to visit the temple to offer silk robes to Goddess Kanaka Durga as part of Dasara festivities.