V.V. Mineral godown sealed

Searches conducted in warehouses located in Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur

Tahsildar Sankaranarayanan (right) with police personnel near Thoothukdi on Thursday

Amid tight security, a godown with a stock of 420 tonnes of garnet sand owned by beach sand mining company V.V. Mineral, near Muthaiyapuram, Thoothukudi, was sealed on Thursday.

The district administration had begun conducting searches in godowns, mostly in Thoothukudi and Tiruchendur, following the suspension of Assistant Director of Mines Krishnamohan, who allegedly produced a fake document to allow illegal export of beach minerals belonging to V.V. Mineral. Taluk-level squads led by tahsildars and surveyors had been conducting searches in all 13 godowns of sand mining companies in the district.

The district also has six leasehold mining sites. The searches were being monitored by a district-level committee, comprising Thoothukudi Sub Collector Deepak Jacob and the Revenue Divisional Officers of Kovilpatti and Tiruchendur.

‘Godowns under watch’

The squads would check whether the mined beach minerals stocked in the sealed godown was legally sourced. If the owner of the godown could not prove the authenticity of the stock, it would be confiscated, Thoothukudi Collector M. Ravikumar told

The Hindu . The State government enforced a ban on beach sand mining on August 8, 2013. Hence, all godowns, including unapproved ones, would be thoroughly checked.