The drowning of five girls, all under the age of 12, at abandoned quarries around Moodbidri has brought into focus the problem of open pits in the district.
At Darkasu, two sisters drowned while playing near a partially-filled stone quarry next to their house; while at Daddikalpane, three sisters drowned in three abandoned quarries behind their houses that was filled with rainwater.
Only a narrow path — with slippery laterite stones protruding at every alternate step — weaves around the quarry-ponds at Dattikalpane. At points, the path is barely three foot wide, with a steep ditch filled with water on either sides. The quarries were dug nearly 50 years ago and were left in that state after the stone was all taken out, said Norbert Ma-thais, former taluk panchayat member from Badagayedapadavu. “The man who allowed the quarrying is dead and only his children remain. They are daily wage workers who could not afford to buy loads of mud to fill up the quarries,” he said. Mangalore Tahsildhar Mohan Rao said:
“Most such open quarries remain unfenced and unfilled. This poses a big threat during the monsoon.” Revenue officials said that fencing of quarries is “rare” and was only due to public pressure. Hariprasad, a resident, said that earlier this year they had protested against a live quarry operating dangerously close to a road. “Due to the quarrying there was a huge ditch right next to the road which is used by many schoolchildren. It was only after protests that the mines officials directed the quarry owner to fence the land,” he said. However, a senior official in the Mines and Geology Department said that there were no specific rules about the restoration of quarrying sites. Instead, the department has come out with Quarry Plan for all future leases in which several safety measures, including environmental clearances, have been incorporated, said the official. MLA B.A. Mohiuddin Bava, who visited the family of the dead girls, said that a government order was issued 10 days ago asking the district administrations to close down expended quarries. “By the time a survey could be ordered, this unfortunate incident happened,” he said.
Admitting that many land owners cannot afford to fill up their land, Mr. Bava said that the State government will be petitioned to acquire these land.
