Villagers stay in cemetery to protest quarry in their village

According to the villagers here, there already are two stone quarries in the village, due to which they are facing many difficulties. Local residents said that the villagers had requested the district administration to close these two quarries in their village. However, instead of considering the plea from them, the officials have approved a third one, much to the chagrin of the people here.

When the owner the quarry came for performing puja in the quarry about three months ago, the villagers laid siege in protest, asking him not to open the quarry. Following this, the officials from Revenue department visited the spot asked the person to stop the quarry works for a while. However, three days ago, the works for opening the quarry started again.

On Saturday, the villagers gathered in the cemetery and staged protest against the district administration. Since then, they people from the village have been staying in the cemetery, cooking and even sleeping there for the past three days. The villagers said they would not go back to their houses until the officials cancelled the order on setting up the third quarry.

When asked, the Uthiramerur Tahsildar said the work on the quarry would be stopped soon. “We have asked the concern people to look for a new place to start the quarry. Hopefully, the villagers would give up their protest by night,” he said.