Date:27/09/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/27/stories/2004092706500600.htm

Tamil Nadu

Sand mafia eating away Vaigai's northern bank

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, SEPT. 26. For more than a year now, V. Jeyaraman, a retired person, has been fighting hard to save his coconut grove along the Vaigai river bank from the hands of sand mafia. With both the revenue and police officials not showing any interest to put an end to the illegal activity, Mr. Jeyaraman is now contemplating to seek the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court's intervention.

Two groups of sand-miners operating from Viraghanoor and Puliyankulam are simultaneously eating away the western and eastern corners of the over three-acre "2-C" patta land, on the northern bank of the Vaigai. The sand mafia, which reduced the embankment for more than 200 feet, has already felled a handful of coconut trees. As a result, the riverbed has been widened by more than 80 feet in certain pockets after the miners dug the patta land for nearly 20 feet depth. ("2-C" patta land is Government `poromboke' land authorised by the Revenue department for individuals to take up farming on payment of an annual fee.)

Unabated mining

"The unabated mining is posing danger to the Right Main canal maintained by the Public Works department. In the long run it will also affect the Viraghanoor regulator," an official said.

Mr. Jeyaraman first drew the attention of the district administration to the issue in May last year. In his complaint, he complained that the miners had threatened the watchman of the coconut grove with "dire consequences". Whenever he objected, the watchman was chased away by the mob, pelting stones at him.

Despite the complaint, the revenue officials did not take effective steps to check the illegal activity.

The Silaiman police refused to register complaint, even as the miners had "trespassed, indulged in theft (of sand), damaged the trees, threatened the watchman and pelted stones". "The police instead asked us to approach the Revenue officials," he said.

After the Village Administrative Officer dug a pit on the approach road, along the Right Main Canal, which connects the Madurai-Ramanathapuram road to the riverbed, the miners were now forcefully taking their trucks through the patta land.

Even after a second complaint lodged with the District Collector in November last year, the unlawful activity has been going on.

"I have no other alternative except to move the High Court to save the coconut trees that have been brought up by two decades of hard work," Mr. Jeyaraman said.