Hundreds of local residents, environmental activists and students lined up for a human chain protest against the move to open a granite quarry at Chengottumala in Kottur panchayat on Friday. The protesters, who covered about 11-km distance around the hillock, proclaimed that they would collectively resist the quarry project in the village and expose those who sought clearance for it flouting rules and regulations.
Purushan Kadalundi, MLA, opened the demonstration which drew the participation of over 10,000 people. Kottur grama panchayat president K. Sheeja, vice president K.K. Balan and leaders of various political parties and environmental organisations were present.
Protesters displayed numerous placards and banners expressing their concerns over the impact of quarrying in the village, which was already hit by several incidents of landslips and acute shortage of potable water.
The coordinators of the protest said the main demand placed before the authorities was to revoke the environmental clearance granted to the project. They alleged that the clearance was granted to a private company without properly assessing the environmental impact in the ecologically sensitive area.
K. Biju, a coordinator of the local residents’ action committee, said the slips on the part of the officials in giving environmental clearance for the project without conducting proper field study had already been exposed by a recently constituted panel of experts appointed by the District Collector.
“We want this clearance to be suspended with immediate effect. It was the frequent protests by local people that actually prevented the issuance of D&O (Dangerous and Offensive Trades) licence under the Kerala Panchayati Raj rules to the quarry owners,” he said.
