Heritage activists oppose open cast coal mine near Ramappa Temple in Telangana, fear threat to World Heritage Site

Heritage activists, including the Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT), are demanding the withdrawal of the proposed PVNR opencast coal mine at Venkatapur in Mulugu district, contending that the project could pose a long-term threat to the UNESCO-inscribed Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple, popularly known as Ramappa Temple, and the adjacent Ramappa Lake.

To mount pressure on the State government, they are also planning to mobilise people from 15 villages and organise mass protests after the Dasara festival, against the proposed mine.

As part of the campaign, a delegation met Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy in Hyderabad on Saturday and urged him to intervene and stop the proposed project. They said the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) was reportedly gearing up to take up the project despite concerns raised by heritage conservationists.

Quoting technical observations, KHT representative and former professor of NIT-Warangal, M. Pandu Ranga Rao said the proposed opencast mine would be located about 5 km downstream of the Ramappa Lake and temple and involve excavation to a depth of about 300 metres. He said that a Geological Survey of India report contended that the water level in the Ramappa Lake could influence groundwater movement through geological lineaments and faults towards the proposed mine.

“The report also raised concerns over the absence of a cut-off trench in the lake, saying deep excavation downstream could create a hydraulic gradient and potentially accelerate seepage,” he said.

Mr. Rao further pointed to the sand-box foundation of the Ramappa Temple and said interconnected lineaments passing through the lake and temple area could potentially affect the foundation through piping.

While acknowledging that the immediate impact of blasting on the temple had been assessed as ‘low’ in the reports, the KHT argued that repeated and periodic vibrations could have a cumulative effect on the nearly 800-year-old structure. “The temple was already showing signs of distress, including fractures and differential settlement of floor beams in the Ranga Mandapam, “ he said.

Mr. Ranga Rao said the proposed mining could also have wider implications for biodiversity, the local environment and the socio-economic and cultural interests of communities dependent on the Ramappa Lake and its surroundings.

Expressing concern over the possibility of water moving through interconnected fractures and lineaments, potentially affecting the stability of the lake and the temple, the KHT urged SCCL to withdraw the proposed opencast mining project.

Social activist and former Warangal Mayor T. Rajeshwar Rao said they would bring together like-minded people and organisations to build a larger movement against the proposal. “We are planning to visit the villages likely to be affected in the event of a breach of the Ramappa Lake and make them aware of the repercussions of opencast mining near the lake,” he said.

Another activist, Mandala Parashuramulu, urged people to come forward to protect the UNESCO World Heritage status of Ramappa Temple, expressing concern that mining activity in the vicinity could have implications for its heritage status.