The Thadagam police arrested drivers of two lorries that were found transporting bricks from two brick kilns situated in Thadagam valley for violating orders of the Madras High Court and Coimbatore district administration late on Tuesday.
The arrested were P. Sundarapandian (30) from Veerapandipudur and K. Rangaraj (43) from Chinna Thadagam.
The police said that they stopped two brick-laden lorries at Kanuvai during a vehicle check on Tuesday night.
The drivers told the police that the bricks were loaded from two brick kilns at Veerapandipudur. They were among the 180-odd brick kilns that were served closure orders by the district administration based on the direction of the Madras High Court, said the police.
Following the court's direction, the district administration had said in May this year that that sale of bricks manufactured in brick kilns/chambers that operated illegally was also an offence.
According to the police, owners of the two brick kilns Sathyamoorthy and Sivasakthivel have been booked.
S. Ganesh from Thadagam Valley Protection Council said that drivers were mere employees and the police should arrest owners of brick kilns who are violating the orders. He wanted the Revenue Department and the police to increase surveillance to stop brick kiln owners from selling bricks made without proper permissions. He alleged that hundreds of loads of bricks were transported from brick kilns even after closure orders were served.
