A scientific team of state’s Dam Safety Review Panel visited the under-construction Lower Indra Irrigation Project here on Friday and said that there was no reason for local residents to panic due to the cave in on its main spillway, some 100 metres away from the reservoir.

Among the team members were engineer-in-chief of state planning and design department Gunadhar Mishra and, quality control chief engineer S.K. Sahu, chief designer P.K. Sahu and expert consultant Sudhakar Patri.

After review of the condition of the spillway that had recently developed a crack and caused a cave in, the eight-member dam safety team ruled out any danger to the local residents.

The irrigation project is almost complete and is slated to be inaugurated shortly. The team members said that the soil had caved in due to a natural process and that it would not have any impact to the dam.

Chief engineer of dam safety Prafulla Kumar Swain said: “This is the first year that water has been impounded in the reservoir. It’s a normal settlement process and there is no need to panic. The settlement process occurs year after year and it is visible because the coal tar was put over the spillway immediately during the construction.”

Chief construction engineer of the irrigation project Sunil Kumar Nayak also said that the technical team of the government’s dam safety review panel ruled out any danger either to the dam or to the local residents. “The team carried out an inspection of the spillway and clarified that there was no threat to the dam and there was no need for the local residents to panic either,” Nayak said.

On August 24, members of the Lower Indra Jana Sachetanata Manch staged a protest and blocked NH-353 demanding probe into the crack and also rehabilitation of the people displaced due to the project, which has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore.