Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110755580300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

One-acre site identified for sand extraction

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A one-acre site in the outer reaches of the Aruvikkara dam has been identified on Friday as the place from where sand will be extracted as part of a pilot project, designed to make available good quality sand for construction purposes and to enhance the storage capacity of the reservoir.

Officials from the Kerala Water Authority, the Revenue Department, the Irrigation Department, the Centre for Earth Science Studies, the Nirmithi Kendra, the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Aruvikkara grama panchayat inspected two sites that had been identified earlier for possible sand extraction. Eventually they zeroed in on the one-acre site in the Mundela area.

Bores will be dug at different spots in this site so that a detailed technical evaluation can be done by a team from the NIIST.