Lalgudi residents besiege illegally loaded sand lorries

On Saturday, Lalgudi villagers besieged the loaded sand lorries on the Cauvery River bed. They demanded immediate action against the rampant mining to save the remaining ground water. The residents were led by R Arivalagan, a social activist from the area.

“On an average, around 1000 lorries transport sand from this area and we have already alerted the officials including the mining department. We hear that only Pettaivaithalai sand reach is allowed to mine sand in Tiruchy and other areas, the operation is closed. However, in Lalgudi region, illegal dredging of sand has been going on unnoticed,” Arivalagan told DTNext. 

He cautioned that already the ground water level had dipped to the level of forcing people to struggle even for drinking water. “We fear the condition will worsen this year. However, these sand mining people continue with their business illegally in the remote villages along the Cauvery, which may not be noticed by officials,” he further said. 

“On hearing that we were approaching the sand mining reaches, they temporarily stopped mining for a moment and when we went there, no one was there but a few lorries stationed,” Arivalagan said. The people, who besieged the lorries, distributed hand bills to the onlookers. The residents have decided to approach the District Collector KS Palanisamy in a few days.

Meanwhile, Thaneer orgnaisation, an environmental group has scheduled to stage a protest against sand mining in Cauvery on Sunday. They have also planned to focus on illegal sand mining reaches being operated in the district.