Residents of Gurukulam, Imnampatti, Nimbaleswararm and Veppankudi all in Veppankudi village panchayat in Tiruvarangulam block besieged earth movers used for illegal mining of sand at Imnampattikulam, a sprawling tank of 90 acres in the area.
The villagers said that although the Veppankudi village panchayat had permitted to clear sand only to a depth of two feet, the operators illegally quarried sand up to a depth of six feet.
They said that the irrigation for the fields in adjoining villages would be hit, as the tank had been deepened.
After waiting for about three hours, the earthmover operators left the tank due to the agitation. Villagers said that they would resume the stir if the operators continued their illegal practice.
