Five Madurai villages bear brunt of stone quarries

The hillock, Perumalmalai, located 30 kilometres away from Madurai, became the recent attraction for stone quarry owners, so much so that the recent auction fetched a whooping Rs 22.5 crore for the district administration. 

However, residents from the villages around the hillock claim that more than 10 such stone quarries are functioning on the hillock already and they have badly affected the villages. Moreover, the villagers claim that the recently auctioned stone quarry is 20 times larger than those functioning on the hillock already and if the new quarry starts to function, they will be forced to desert their villages. 

Silambarasan, a resident of M Usilampatti village, an employee at an automobile showroom in Madurai, told DTNext that there were five villages - Muttupatti, M Usilampatti, Melamettupatti, Pallapatti and Sendhamangalam surrounding Perumalmalai. 

“M Usilampatti, which is located on the foothills of Perumalmalai, is the most affected by the stone quarries. Moreover, the quarries use powerful explosives, and the tremors have resulted in houses developing said, Silambarasan. 

Another resident, Vellaisamy, a farmer said, “The village is entirely dependent on farming. Earlier we use to cultivate water-intense crops like paddy and sugar cane, but once the quarries started functioning, we had to shift to rain-fed cultivation. 

The quarries have reduced the groundwater levels and the dust has polluted the village, particularly the agricultural lands. The powerful explosives are set off 200-300 feet below the surface, this makes lands unfit for cultivation.”

 Another farmer, Dinesh Kumar, said that while the existing quarries were located over 500 meters away from the village, the latest one at the distance was much closer and will be using more powerful explosives than the rest. 

“When the existing quarries have caused such damage to the village, the new quarry if opened, will cause irreparable damages and force the residents to desert their village,” said Dinesh Kumar. Even the children are bearing the brunt of the quarries. Mohan Raj, a Class 12 student said, “Explosive set off at the quarries cause rocks to fly for over a kilometre and land in the village. 

These projectiles can cause serious injuries to the villagers. There is a great risk of students being hurt by such rocks when they go to school or return home. Moreover, a student drowned while taking bath in one of the quarries last year.” 

A senior official from the district administration, on condition of anonymity, said that a case was moved at the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court against the quarries.

“The HC sought a report and the RDO initially submitted the same opposing the quarries. However, the district administration submitted another report in favour of the quarries, which resulted in the court ruling in favour of the quarries,” said the official.