With the tacit support of officials of various departments, sand mafia has been destroying red sand dunes near Kavalkinaru in the district by illegally quarrying the sand with heavy equipment for the past several weeks.
Dotted with towering palmyra trees and densely grown acacia, the mineral-rich red sand dunes, known as ‘theri’ in Tamil, can be seen for several kilometres in Radhapuram taluk. The sand dunes also house a range of small wild animals such as hares, wildcats, hedgehogs and birds, mostly endangered species. Moreover, herbal plants like ‘senkolinji’, ‘nilasadaichi’, ‘theri vidaithalai’, etc., can be seen in the dunes.
The government has given permit for quarrying sand from the government and patta lands to the companies involved in minerals export, but a few illicit sand miners have started using heavy equipment for taking sand from these dunes situated near Kavalkinaru without any permission.
“Though the officials are aware of the sand mafia’s operations, no action has been taken against them despite repeated complaints from the public. Emboldened by this, the sand mafia, who are using earthmovers, have completely destroyed a huge sand dune covering over 27 acres. A few hundred palmyra trees that stood on this land have been uprooted by the illicit sand miners,” said X. Christopher of Kavalkinaru, who along with 15 others, submitted a petition at the office of Cheranmahadevi Sub-Collector on Monday, seeking immediate action against the illicit sand miners.
The villagers complained that groundwater table in the areas such as Kavalkinaru and Vadakkankulam had gone down alarmingly after the illicit sand mining became so active. When the activists forwarded complaints to officials demanding an end to sand mining, the mafia came to the doorsteps of the petitioners with copies of their complaints and threatened them of dire consequences.
“If the situation is allowed to continue, it will lead to complete destruction of red sand dunes,” Mr. Christiopher said.
It is reliably learnt that Cheranmahadevi Sub-Collector V. Vishnu is likely to inspect the spot this week to ascertain the quantum of sand mined.
