Farmers, activists oppose move to set up sand quarry at Mangammalpuram
As per the proposal, the sand quarry will have an area measuring 200 hectares on the river course near Anbil in Lalgudi Taluk in Tiruchi district. It is proposed to excavate 5,00,000 m3 of sand by opencast mechanised mining method without drilling and blasting. Sand will be transported by 10/20 tonnes. The sand will be loaded directly to the trucks/ lorries to nearby approved Government Sand Depot for transportation to the needy customers. The trucks will be loaded by excavators in direct supervision of the Assistant/ Junior Engineers of the Water Resources Department. The life of the mining period will be two years.
However, farmers and environmental activists expressed their strong reservations to the quarry at the public hearing conducted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) at Anbil near here.
R.S. Mugilan, coordinator, Cauvery Protection Movement, who participated in the hearing, said there should not be any drinking water project within 500 meters radius of any mining activity. There were six drinking water projects in close vicinity of the proposed quarry. It would adversely impact the drinking water projects and the environment. Mining plan for the quarry was prepared in 2022. It was wrong to seek the opinions and views for the three-year-old mining plan as it would not reflect the current picture of the quarrying site and method.
He said that 45 annexes, including no objection certificates from revenue authorities and others, should have been made available on the website of TNPCB. But, it had mainly annexed only the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). It had deprived the people, mainly farmers and local residents, information about mandatory details.
Mr. Mugilan said that several villages, which were surrounded by the proposed site, would be affected on various fronts if the quarry was allowed. Hence, it should not be established.
M.P. Chinnadurai, a farmer leader, said there was already a GO for importing sand from river sand-rich countries. Instead of causing negative environmental impact by opening sand quarries, the State government should take steps to import sand to meet the market demand.
V. Jeevakumar, a farmer of Rayamundanpatti in Thanjavur district, said the proposed quarry site was not far away from Kallanai, one of the oldest irrigation structures. There was possibility of extensive sand mining activity beyond the permitted level. If it happened it might pose danger to the Kallanai.
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