Rampant sand mining on Palar not allowing dead to rest in peace

TIRUPATTUR: Nearly 1,000 Dalit families in Somalapuram village in Madanur Panchayat Union in Tirupattur district are incensed over rampant sand mining and rightly so.

Rampant pillaging of sand from the Palar river abutting their village has resulted in pits being dug to depths of 10 feet and more. “The pillaging has resulted in constructed mausoleums for the dead crumbling exposing the skeletons buried underneath,” said VCK district coordinator M Tamilselvan.

The main issue is that the original burial ground is on the other side of the Palar, which cannot be accessed when the river is in flow, specially during the monsoon. “Though we have repeatedly petitioned both the local Tahsildar and the Collector for a proper road to ensure our community members undertake prayers in that 300-year-old ground, it has till date fallen on deaf ears,” he added.

Elaborating, Ramachandran another resident added, “we were provided a common burial ground 25 years ago and there is no opposition to bodies from any community being buried there. However as on date only Dalits use it.”

Though the villagers were willing to overlook the pillaging of Palar sand, tempers rose when suddenly such acts resulted in skeletons of relatives buried long ago being exposed due to the surrounding structures crumbling as sand was pilfered from underneath the tombs.

Asked what locals proposed to do to rectify the issue, Tamilselvan said, “We will stage an agitation to get justice. While illegal sand mining does not bother us what enraged locals was that their forefathers were not allowed to rest in peace due to their bones coming out following such illegal sand mining.”

When asked about the issue, Tirupattur Collector D Baskara Pandian said, he would check and rectify it.