Coimbatore : The heavy explosives used in stone quarries in Mettupalayam damages borewells, which in turn affects farming and causes cracks in houses causing fear among public.
Coimbatore : The heavy explosives used in stone quarries in Mettupalayam damages borewells, which in turn affects farming and causes cracks in houses causing fear among public.
With many stone quarries operating in Padiyanur village, in the Sikkarampalayam Municipality near Mettupalayam use high intensity explosives to break rocks. With a loud earth-shattering noise, stones get splintered and tend to scatter as far as a kilometre, damaging the roofs of houses and causing cracks on the compound walls.
Being a farming village, curry leaves and plantains are grown in the region. Due to the quarries digging deeper than the permitted levels, the ground water level has also been affected and borewells have dried up. Farmers have also complained that due to the high intensity of the explosives, borewell motors tend to get displaced and stuck in borewells, causing thousands of rupees loss for farmers. They also complained that the quarry work is on, day and night, causing dust to scatter for more than 1 km. They said that the layer of dust has been accumulated on crops, thus stunting their growth.
Farmers also registered their concern saying that the dust has been settling in the water kept for domestic animals which causes the water to be polluted and resulting in the death of these animals, reportedly due to accumulation of stones in the body. They have alleged that apart from animals, even people are dying of cancer due to pollution levels. The farmers complained that even after multiple complaints to the Revenue Officer about the kind of damages caused by the selfishness of the quarry owner, no action has been taken to stop this. Hence, the people of Padiyanur village have resorted to submitting a petition to the District Collector, seeking immediate action.
With many stone quarries operating in Padiyanur village, in the Sikkarampalayam Municipality near Mettupalayam use high intensity explosives to break rocks. With a loud earth-shattering noise, stones get splintered and tend to scatter as far as a kilometre, damaging the roofs of houses and causing cracks on the compound walls.
Being a farming village, curry leaves and plantains are grown in the region. Due to the quarries digging deeper than the permitted levels, the ground water level has also been affected and borewells have dried up. Farmers have also complained that due to the high intensity of the explosives, borewell motors tend to get displaced and stuck in borewells, causing thousands of rupees loss for farmers. They also complained that the quarry work is on, day and night, causing dust to scatter for more than 1 km. They said that the layer of dust has been accumulated on crops, thus stunting their growth.
Farmers also registered their concern saying that the dust has been settling in the water kept for domestic animals which causes the water to be polluted and resulting in the death of these animals, reportedly due to accumulation of stones in the body. They have alleged that apart from animals, even people are dying of cancer due to pollution levels. The farmers complained that even after multiple complaints to the Revenue Officer about the kind of damages caused by the selfishness of the quarry owner, no action has been taken to stop this. Hence, the people of Padiyanur village have resorted to submitting a petition to the District Collector, seeking immediate action.