The opening of 85 new sand quarries in different parts of the State in the recent past has eased congestion at the 13 quarries functioning in central districts to a big extent.
The serpentine queue of lorries, which was until recently a regular site in the sand quarries at places, including Thudaiyur, Musiri, Anbil on the banks of Cauvery and Coleroon river in the district, is now not to be seen in the last few months. The reason for reduced frequency was mainly attributed to the opening of the new quarries.
Till the opening of the new quarries, hundreds of lorries even from Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Erode districts used to converge at quarries in the district, resulting in a prolonged wait of about two days before the lorries were loaded.
Sources from the Public Works Department say that there has been a steep fall in the arrival of lorries at the Tiruchi quarries.
A case in point is the quarry at the Coleroon near Anbil village which formed a vital link between Tiruchi and Thanjavur district. A visit to Anbil recently revealed that the scramble for sand was not to be seen. “We have diverted the trucks to the new quarries formed in the other districts and have evolved a hassle-free procedure,” say the PWD sources.
The opening of these quarries has resulted in checking the exploitation by middlemen. Also, prices of sand loads have come down considerably, bringing much relief to people in general and builders in particular.
