Senior Communist Party of India leader R. Nallakannu was arrested along with 205 functionaries at Vickramasingapuram on Monday for taking out a rally, demanding cancellation of licence given for granite mining at Aladiyoor, without police permission. They were released within 30 minutes.
The CPI, which has been demanding cancellation of the permit, alleged that explosives being used in blasting off the rocks in the granite quarry were not only damaging the Manimuthar reservoir but also affecting wildlife in the Western Ghats and farming activities in the region.
Mr. Nallakannu had visited Aladiyoor on May 28 to ascertain the situation.
Mr. Nallakannu and CPI cadre, including former Nanguneri MLA S.V. Krishnan, district secretary R. Shanmugavel and AITUC office-bearer Kasi Viswanathan, took out the rally.
Later, addressing the media, Mr. Nallakannu said though licence was given to a firm for quarrying granite only on 2.5 acres, it was carrying out activities at a depth of 90 metres on over 12 acres. “The blasts are causing cracks in houses nearby Aladiyoor.”
