Give permits for sand quarry or we won’t vote: 200 cart owners

SK Sankar, president of the district bullock cart owners’ welfare association, said that the district administration had created a sand quarry along the banks of Palar river following their agitation some time ago. Though collector SA Raman issued the necessary orders on February 22, Sankar claimed that officials have been creating problems by not providing them with permits to mine sand from the river.

He also said that a few days ago, cart owners even organised a pooja at the site of the proposed quarry after hearing from the collector. But, although theofficials have marked the perimeter of the quarry with stones, they have allegedly refused to give out permits and have cited the upcoming elections as the reason for doing so.

To highlight their grievance, the owners of the bullock carts put up a shamiana along the Palar river banks near the quarry and fasted for a day, said Sankar. “The livelihoods of nearly 1,200 cart owners in the Vellore, Katpadi and Anaicut taluks will be affected if the officials do not give us the permits,” he added.

Moreover, it added to the cart owners’ woes when officials asked them to apply for permits online. This is a huge problem for them as most of the bullock cart owners are illiterate. Here, Sankar said that in case the elections were a deterrent for issuing new permits, the authorities should extend the duration of use for the present quarry. “Ïf the authorities fail to do so, all the members of our association will boycott the polls,” he said.