Nellai quarry tragedy: Violations in 54 quarries, 13 may shut

CHENNAI: Following the tragic deaths of four quarry workers in Tirunelveli's Munneerpallam in May, inspections were being carried out in the district's 55 quarries.

Shockingly, 54 out of the 55 quarries are involved in some sort of irregularity or the other. The lone quarry despite having a permit isn't functional yet, hence no irregularity was reported in the quarry, according to Maalaimalar report.

Tirunelveli's district Collector Vishnu taking a hardline approach issued notices to 13 quarries seeking closure over rampant violations. The remaining 41 quarries were imposed a penalty of Rs 300 crore to be paid to the mining department for mining above the permissible limits.

Only after paying the fine, the quarries would be allowed to become operational again.

Officials have learned that these discrepancies are found in those quarries that got permits after 2017.

A massive landslide in a stone quarry claimed 4 lives of workers in May. The quarry was immediately sealed and 6 teams were formed to study all quarries in the district.