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. Because of this, many tanks and water bodies in the district are not able to hold rain water they receive for a long time. Only if there is adequate depth and sand in the bed can the water be absorbed to recharge the ground water levels,” said president of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association (CITU) S Palanisamy.“The agricultural community is nervous that Coimbatore will soon become a rocky district, unable to save and store rain water, in a few decades. If that happens, agriculture too will die,” he said.Six months ago, the Madras high court had ordered the state government to close all sand quarries in the state within six months to maintain ecological balance. However, the state government managed to get a stay order against it from the Supreme Court. 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. “They have mined the sand so deep in that once perennial river,” he said.Farmers say revenue, mines and agriculture departments have to work together to prevent illegal mining.“Even if officials act on complaints, the miners continue their activities with political interference and support. These departments should create a committee to remain vigilant over mining-prone villages and stop it,” said Palanisamy.

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