Illegal mining: Villagers lay siege to 200 sand lorries

Scores of residents of Minjur, Neidhavayal and Ariyanvayal villages blocked the Minjur-Kattur road around 8 am, resulting in piling up of lorries for over two kilometres.

According to the protesting villagers, the state Department of Geology and Mining had given permission to private quarries to mine sand from Neidhavayal lake, spread over 853 acres near Minjur, in order to deepen the lake.

However, they alleged, the contractors were mining sand way beyond the permitted level. At some places, the lake has been dug up to 30 feet, charged the villagers. The value of sand, a key construction material, has shot through the roof due to crippling shortage.

What has irked the public even more was the traffic congestion, risks of accidents and air pollution caused by the frequent, seemingly endless plying of hundreds of truck laden with sand that pass through their villages every day. “These trucks pose a major threat of accidents especially in the morning hours when the children are going to their schools,” said Mohanraj of Minjur. According to him, sand was being illegally mined from Thathai Manji lake as well.

After suffering for the past 20 days, the people finally took to the streets on Saturday morning, blocking the road in Minjur seeking stoppage of mining activities at the lakes. As the blockade stopped traffic on the stretch, leading to nearly 200 sand-laden trucks alone lining up along the road, local police rushed to the spot to pacify the people.

Finally, on the promise that mining activities would be supervised and regulated and that sand would be transported in a safer manner without causing nuisance to the people especially children, the protesters dispersed. By then, the protest had hit traffic on Kattur road for hours.