VELLORE | Aug 20, 2015:
unabated:Sand quarrying has been slowly eating into the Palar riverbed.-Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy
With the ban on sand quarrying activities extended for another three years in neighbouring district of Kancheepuram, the burden on Palar riverbed in Vellore will continue.
The State government had banned sand quarrying activities in all riverbeds in Kancheepuram in 2013 and extended it for another year in 2014. On Tuesday, it extended the prevailing ban for another three years.
According to Tamil Nadu State Sand Lorry Owner’s Federation, prior to the ban in 2013, more than 4,000 lorry loads of sand were mined from the four quarries in Kancheepuram.
Quarries shifted
“Following the ban, we shifted to quarries in Arcot in Vellore district and Villupuram district. Before the ban, we were bringing 1,500 lorry loads of sand from Arcot, and this went up to 3,000 loads after the ban. Now, the quarry in Villupuram has also been closed,” said the Federation’s president S. Yuvaraj.
Requirement of Chennai
Chennai requires 9,000 loads of sand per day, he said, adding, “Nearly 3,000 to 3,500 loads of sand are mined from Arcot per day for supplying to Chennai day and night as only then can we manage, while 2,000 to 3,000 loads comes from quarries in Panruti in Cuddalore and Tiruchy, leaving behind a shortfall of 2,500 loads.”
He said Vellore will continue to carry the burden following the extension of the ban as 3,000 loads of sand is being mined every day, and that too, at more depth in the Palar riverbed.
“In fact, the sand quarried from the riverbed in Arcot is unfit for construction. It is black in colour. Water from leather industries has polluted the sand,” he added.
Presently, there are three Public Works Department (PWD)-run quarries in Vellore –Vanivedu, Perungalmedu and Rangapuram. Officials said the extension of the ban may not have a large impact on Vellore but it might affect to an extent due to its proximity to Chennai after Kancheepuram.
To reduce the burden, Mr. Yuvaraj suggested that sand quarrying may be permitted on Cheyyar river in Tiruvannamalai. “The government can also permit us to quarry sand from other States such as Andhra Pradesh,” he added.
For ban in Vellore
The extension of the ban has lent more voice to the need to conserve Palar . Environment activists have called for a similar ban on sand quarrying in Vellore.
Jamuna Thygarajan, president of Vellore District Palar Protection Association said illegal sand mining should be curbed in Vellore.
“Steps should be taken to bring a similar ban in Vellore. The government’s priority should be to improve water resources. As of now, there is depletion of ground water in Vellore and farmers have been deprived of taking up agriculture due to lack of water,” she said.
It is essential to safeguard the sand deposit of the river in order to pave way for its revival by interlinking of rivers, she said.
Environmentalists
Environmentalists said conserving the sand is crucial to protect ground water table. “Government rules are not followed. They have to dig only for three feet in the riverbed but sand is being dug up for 30 feet,” an activist said.
Another activist, S.N.C. Marthandam, organiser of the Palar Protection Awareness Movement, which recently protested against a proposed quarry at Kandaneri, said already, plenty of sand has been mined from Vellore. “There should be no quarry at all on Palar riverbed,” he said.
Nearly 3,000 loads of sand is being mined every day, and that too, at more depth in the Palar riverbed
(Source: http://www.thehindu.com)