Summary:
COIMBATORE: Farmers allege that illegal sand, gravel and clay mining from river, stream and tank beds continues unabated in Coimbatore district. According to them, illegal sand mining happens despite the Tamil Nadu government allowing sand mining on a strictly monitored basis.They have called for an exclusive watchdog committee to be set up by the state government and the district administration to tackle this menace.Farmers said that illegal mining of gravel sand, sand and clay sand is rampant in all agricultural areas like Thadagam, Periyanaickenpalayam, Sulur, Kinathukidavu, Sirumugai among others.“Day and night you can see lorries transporting out mud, clay and gravel from these locations. These departments should create a committee to remain vigilant over mining-prone villages and stop it,” said Palanisamy. Because of this, many tanks and water bodies in the district are not able to hold rain water they receive for a long time. After this development, illegal mining has been rampant.“Because of this many lakes and tanks including the Kowsika river do not get filled up naturally, which in turn affects hundreds of acres of farming land in the vicinity,” said Palanisamy..