Coimbatore: Despite repeated petitions and continuous damage to the environment, brick kilns of the Thadagam valley continue to dig out sand illegally from the foothills of the Western Ghats here.
Coimbatore: Despite repeated petitions and continuous damage to the environment, brick kilns of the Thadagam valley continue to dig out sand illegally from the foothills of the Western Ghats here.
An illegal act that was thought to be quietened by the authorities in the recent months, came to light once again through a video shot in Thadagam.
The video, probably shot close to the road between Mankarai and Veerapandipirivu in Thadagam, shows tipper trucks being filled with mined sand by the help of earth movers.
While the permission to dig up was only upto three feet, the vehicles were standing inside a crater of more than 50 feet, which is evidently created by illegal sand mining.
Earlier, when the capture of elephants Chinnathambi and Vinayagan was the talk of the town four months ago, activists and scientists had claimed that continuous sand mining could bring adverse damage to the environment in the region as animal corridors are encroached.
In his report to the Forest Department in December, scientist and elephant expert Ajay Desai had claimed that sand mining was resulting in 'Human-Elephant Conflict'.
A petition by the activists to the District Administration also claimed that water bodies were being completely damaged by the mining activity. Then, officials jumped into the scene and blocked the pathways used for sand mining near Periyathadagam.
However, with the recent video it is evident that no proper action has been initiated by the authorities, till date. Despite all hue and cry raised by the activists and locals, rampant sand mining is ongoing unabated in the Thadagam region which has triggered vociferous doubts on the district administration.
Unless a team of officials are stationed at the sand mining sites in Thadagam, these illicit sand miners will continue to mindlessly excavate the whole area, opine the locals.
An illegal act that was thought to be quietened by the authorities in the recent months, came to light once again through a video shot in Thadagam.
The video, probably shot close to the road between Mankarai and Veerapandipirivu in Thadagam, shows tipper trucks being filled with mined sand by the help of earth movers.
While the permission to dig up was only upto three feet, the vehicles were standing inside a crater of more than 50 feet, which is evidently created by illegal sand mining.
Earlier, when the capture of elephants Chinnathambi and Vinayagan was the talk of the town four months ago, activists and scientists had claimed that continuous sand mining could bring adverse damage to the environment in the region as animal corridors are encroached.
In his report to the Forest Department in December, scientist and elephant expert Ajay Desai had claimed that sand mining was resulting in 'Human-Elephant Conflict'.
A petition by the activists to the District Administration also claimed that water bodies were being completely damaged by the mining activity. Then, officials jumped into the scene and blocked the pathways used for sand mining near Periyathadagam.
However, with the recent video it is evident that no proper action has been initiated by the authorities, till date. Despite all hue and cry raised by the activists and locals, rampant sand mining is ongoing unabated in the Thadagam region which has triggered vociferous doubts on the district administration.
Unless a team of officials are stationed at the sand mining sites in Thadagam, these illicit sand miners will continue to mindlessly excavate the whole area, opine the locals.