Rampant granite mining has not spared even a river at E. Malampatti near Keezhavalavu off the Melur-Tirupattur highway in the district.
Legal Commissioner U. Sagayam, during his inspection of quarry sites on Friday, found that the course of the river was diverted at a particular stretch and its width reduced by half.
When Mr. Sagayam reached the spot, the officials showed him the course of the river stating that its width at that spot was 45 metres from the ‘bund.’
However, Mr. Sagayam was not convinced and sought more details. Suddenly, some of the villagers complained that only a part of the river was visible from this side while another portion of the river was well behind the huge ‘bund.’
“This is not the natural bank of the river. This has been put up by the granite quarry operator and the other part of the river has been dug to mine granite stones,” one of them said much to the shock of Mr. Sagayam.
Till then none of the officials, including those from the Departments of Revenue, Public Works and Mining, came forward to reveal this illegal quarrying to the officer who is investigating the multi-crore granite scam as per a High Court direction.
Mr. Sagayam climbed the huge bund that dissected the river and inspected the quarried portion. “The bund is for diverting the river in order to prevent the water from filling the quarry pits,” the village assistant said.
The bund, measuring around 20 feet, was raised using granite waste. “Even the juliflora plants (seemai karuvelem) seen on the bund were deliberately grown by the quarry operator to prevent people from getting into the quarrying area,” a local youth said. The villagers took Mr. Sagayam to show how the riverbed itself was quarried for granite. “It has been dug up in at least five places,” one of them said.
Digging for facts
The Legal Commissioner warned the officials of the Revenue Department for “non-cooperation” in divulging facts about the river.
Mr. Sagayam cautioned them that he would not mind bringing in a special team to find the original boundaries of the river. Asking them to give the original details of the river, he said if he detected any deviation, the official concerned would be taken to task, he warned.
Mr. Sagayam said that he would cross-check the details with a special team.
