A group of local residents on Wednesday blocked Geology department officials, who visited Kodiyathur panchayat in Kozhikode as part of the procedures initiated to clear permits for a granite quarry near Gothambu Road at Thonichal.
The angry protesters alleged that the Geology department officials cold-shouldered their petition to check illegal land filling works in the area for the construction of a road leading to the quarry site.
The members of the local residents’ action committee claimed the department officials were showing “suspicious haste” to process the request of quarry operators, while ignoring the demand of the residents. The government officials should have listened to the villagers’ complaint, which was submitted on March 11, they said.
The officials, who initially left the spot following the protest, returned on the pretext of reviewing the petition, but were blocked again in the middle of the road. The action committee leaders made it clear that no site inspections or checking would be permitted without a prior intimation to the complainants concerned.
A few days ago, an expert committee of the grama panchayat had visited the site for inspection and to investigate complaints related to the “illegal construction” of the road. Apart from this, a village-level committee had inspected the spot to submit its findings to the Geology department officials. Both the site inspections were held on the basis of the complaints submitted by the local action committee.
