The road leading to the Thottappally harbour is wrecked giving motorists a bumpy ride. At the harbour, a dredger is floating on the water and a few small fishing boats are anchored hither and there.
On one side of the harbour, heaps of sand and a ‘sand filtering machine’ bear testimony to the ongoing mineral sand-mining in the area.
“The dredging, filtering and transporting of sand is happening day in day out and there is no end to it,” says, J. Yogidas a local fisherman.
A few years ago, the State government allowed ‘limited’ dredging in the name of Thottappally harbour development. Later, the agreement between the Harbour Engineering Department and Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), Chavara for removal of sand was renewed several times. Recently trucks transporting sand without proper documents were blocked by local fishermen and residents.
They alleged that the Harbour Engineering Department and IREL in collusion with private parties were illegally transporting sand beyond the permissible limit.
“After six years of continuous dredging, we want to know why the government has failed to develop the harbour. Other than small boats, no medium and large fishing boats can anchor at the harbour. The government is not interested in the development of the harbour, they only want to loot the precious sand deposit. We fear the people of the region will be exposed to radiation and other health hazards due to the indiscriminate mining of mineral sand,” Yogidas laments.
Olive Ridley turtles
A few meters south of heaps of sand is a temporary hatchery made of nets and metal sheets. Inside it are 120 eggs of Olive Ridley turtles covered with sand. The Thottappally coast is one of the prime locations for egg-laying turtles in the State. Environmentalists say the sand mining is adversely affecting the nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
“Mineral sand-mining and destruction of the natural habitat is preventing the turtles from nesting in the area. This season, we have only stumbled upon three nests so far,” Saji Jayamohan, secretary, Green Roots Nature Conservation Forum told The Hindu .
Apart from allowing mineral sand-mining at Thottappally harbour, the State government has recently decided to remove sand from Thottappally ‘pozhi’ (estuary) and leading channel for ‘ensuring smooth flow of water’ from the Kuttanad region through Thottappally spillway.
Resentment is also brewing north of Thottappally, where people say they are taking most of the brunt of sea erosion ‘resulting from sand mining at the harbour.’
A large number of houses have been damaged/destroyed in areas including Purakkad, Karoor and Pazhayangadi due to sea erosion in recent years. “Sea erosion has become rampant ever since the dredging commenced. When they dredge at the harbour, our coastlines get eroded. The sea is depositing this sand at the dredged area at harbour. If it continues, the shorelines will soon disappear and we will have to leave the place,” says, Shaji a local fishermen.
Flat complex
The government is planning to construct a flat complex at Purakkad to rehabilitate 200 fishermen families affected by coastal erosion, but fishermen are sceptical saying “government wants the seashore for mining and want us to vacate the place.”
