Monday, Apr 28, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By K. Ramachandran
Chunks of topsoil and fine sand from the riverbed are gnawed by machines and carted away overnight. And, everyone, except the administration, is concerned. Residents and traders at Red Hills say the quarry lobby is now either leasing or buying out farm land in villages near Kortalaiyar, such as Karanodai, Jagannathapuram and in Chevvapet or Ekkadu nestled further west of Tiruvallur taluk. The first one or two metres of digging yields `Savudu' (a coarse variety of earth), used for brickmaking. Beyond three metres, fine sand is available for 10-12 metres. This is simply dug up and carted away in trucks. The coarse `Savudu' finds its way to innumerable brick kilns which dot the district landscape. Villagers are seriously concerned over illegal mining on `patta land' near riverbeds. A gang led by some elected representatives operates from Guruvoyal, off Karanodai. Their operators have taken away huge tracts of farmland in nearby Mettupalayam, Kottaikuppam, Kavanur and Azhinchivakkam.
No response to petitions
At Thandimedu under Azhinchivakkam, the locals sent dozens of petitions to the Collector and revenue officials. But, no action has been taken, "even as we suffer from depleting water sources, damaged roads owing to frequent plying of trucks of illegal miners," says a woman of Thandimedu. The ravaging of the Kortaliyar riverbed and the land along the banks is visible in Sriramnagar Colony. The riverbed is now a series of 15-25-ft deep valleys and ravines. From these pits and burrows sticks out a narrow strip of a road leading to Sriramnagar and further into Thandimedu, an escape route for the sand-smuggling trucks. The residents have put up a barrier at a height of about three metres to prevent movement of trucks. In the same village, a piece of land, once a meadow, is now a 30-ft deep crater. On the edge of Karanodai, the Kortaliyar has become 200-ft wide, thanks to unchecked sand looting. Last year, villagers of Aayalur, Vathatoor, Sivanvoyal or Thottikalai in Thiruvallur and Poonamallee blocks complained of huge chunks of top soil being taken away overnight, without the sanction of revenue or village officials, but with the landowner's approval. Instead of toiling for months, sowing, reaping, watering and tending the crops, the landowners accept huge money to allow miners to plunder the land. A young woman panchayat member at Thottikalai in the district, who opposed the plundering, was allegedly attacked by the quarry lobby. The entry of sand miners into farmland is also causing tension among the landowners and the landless labourers, who have lost farm work, wages and livelihood.
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