4 months ago
1
A precocious conducted gathering by the Collector and the Superintendent of Police successful Tenkasi territory to curb violations successful mining and proscription of minerals to neighbouring Kerala appears to person yielded affirmative results.
Of the district’s 50-odd progressive chromatic quarries, astir 45 nonstop minerals, including stones, bluish metal, M-sand, and quarry dust, to Kerala, wherever suppliers get immense gross arsenic they tin merchantability them for exorbitant prices since the neighbouring State has banned each kinds of mining for conservation purposes. Only 4 quarries person restricted their concern to Tenkasi district.
With customers successful Kerala ensuring profitable gross for mineral suppliers of Tenkasi, hundreds of dense trucks transport minerals to the State. Eyeing for much revenue, the miners indulge successful each kinds of violations specified arsenic digging beyond permissible levels and overloading trucks.
After the Tenkasi District Iyarkkai Vala Paathukappu Sangam, a registered assemblage campaigning against the issue, approached the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court with a plea seeking survey each chromatic quarries successful Tenkasi territory for amerciable mining, the Department of Mines started issuing instructions to the quarries.
Following complaints from conservationists and the nationalist astir amerciable mining of minerals and stones beyond permissible limits and transporting them to Kerala successful overloaded dense trucks, constabulary started cracking the whip against the vehicles. The enactment against the violators gathered momentum aft a petrol weaponry was lobbed connected a mineral-laden lorry adjacent Alangulam successful which the operator sustained superior burns.
When the conservationists complained that the weighbridges excessively person joined hands with the looters by issuing fake weighing passes to the trucks to hoodwink the constabulary checking them for overloading, the Department of Mines organised a gathering connected February 2. Collector A.K. Kamal Kishore, SP G. S. Madhavan, apical officials of the Departments of Mines and Revenue and owners of quarries, lorries and weighbridges participated.
Although the result of the gathering was not revealed, the miners, transporters and weighbridge owners person seemingly been warned severely.
“We are waging a sustained conflict against this looting, but we were not invited for the meeting. The decisions taken astatine the gathering person not been made nationalist successful the signifier of a connection from the Collector. However, aft the meeting, we cannot spot immoderate question of mineral-laden lorries during the restricted hours. Moreover, the overloading contented has besides been addressed, it seems. If the authoritative machinery is truly acrophobic astir conservation of earthy resources and strict implementation of the decisions taken astatine the latest meeting, it volition beryllium bully for the district,” said S. Jameen, secretary, ‘Tenkasi District Iyarkkai Vala Paathukappu Sangam.
