Plea to stop mining sand from rivers

TIRUCHI

Members of the Samaniya Makkal Nala Katchi on Friday urged the Public Works Department not to give permission for mining sand from Cauvery and Kollidam rivers.

They submitted a petition in this regard to the Chief Engineer (WRO), Public Works Department in the city. Citing the decision of the Department of Water Resources to operate 16 sand quarries for lorries and 21 sand quarries exclusively for bullock carts, the forum said the move would adversely affect the river eco-system and the people. The decision has been taken without consulting farmers and environmental activists, claimed P. Gunasekaran, general secretary of the party, in the petition.

The party said sand mining had resulted in depletion of groundwater table along the Cauvery. Water is released into the river for irrigation only for some months and farming on lakhs of acres along the river is dependent on the groundwater table. The river also caters to the drinking water requirements of 16 districts. The government should stop sand mining from rivers to protect the natural resources of the State, the petition read.