The Western Ghats Protection Council (WGPC) has called for a ban on rock quarrying on the environmentally sensitive Thudiyurulippara in Pramadom grama panchayat in Konni taluk.
Talking to The Hindu , Avinash Palleenazhikathu, WGPC district president, and Reji Malayalappuzha, secretary, expressed concern at the apathy of authorities towards the villagers’ plea to stop granite quarrying on the Thudiyurulippara hill.
Villagers, including women and children, staged a dawn-to-dusk sit-in on a road leading to the quarry at Vallikkode seeking its immediate closure on April 4.
Violation of rules
The council leaders alleged violation of mining rules and the Kerala Land Utilisation Act by the quarry lobby in collusion with a section of the official machinery.
They demanded that Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash, who is also the local MLA, should take necessary action to protect the Thudiyurulippara.
The leaders said the permit for granite quarrying had expired on March 31 and the quarry was functioning following a High Court order.
The council leaders called upon the panchayat to move the High Court and properly present the alarming socio-environmental issues facing the village due to the unscientific granite quarrying.
Water scarcity
Mr. Palleenazhikathu alleged that many people in the locality suffered from respiratory ailments after inhaling quarry dust and drinking water scarcity was acute in the region.
Panchayat authorities should shed their silence and act swiftly to protect the hills, dales, paddy lands, and natural water sources in Pramadom, they said.
To continue agitation
The council leaders said the agitation at Vallikkode would continue till the quarry was shut down permanently.
They suspect the role of the quarry lobby behind the vandalising of a Siva temple atop the Thudiyurulippara on March 16. The police were yet to arrest those behind the incident, they added.
