Thanjai Collector inspects riverbeds after HC order in farmers’ case

TIRUCHY: Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver on Thursday inspected the Cauvery and the Kollidam riverbeds in Thanjavur as per the order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court after farmers from the region approached the court not to allow sand quarries.

Farmers, who were present during the inspection, insisted the District Collector not to allow quarries citing threat to environment and cultivation activities.

A group of farmers, Balaganesh, Ponnuraman and Sachidanandam, approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in 2018 and filed a petition seeking an order to close the sand quarries at Pavanamangalam near Tirukattupalli and Vilangudi near Tiruvaiyaru in the Cauvery and the Kollidam respectively and expressed concern that the cultivation process and environment would be affected.

Subsequently, the court ordered the Thanjavur Collector to conduct a detailed study and submit a report. Following the order, the Collector on Thursday inspected the Cauvery bed at Pavanamangalam and the Kollidam bed at Vilangudi village.

Meanwhile, Ponnuraman and Balaganesh along with their advocate Jeevakumar met the Collector and submitted a petition in which they stated that Pavanamangalam is located just one km from Kallanai. They stated that sand has been dredged to alarming depth and this has prevented the flow into the irrigation canal heads located at Tirukattupalli and Puthuchathiram.

“If the sand quarry continued to functions, the entire region will lose its ground water and even getting potable water will be a struggle,” the petition stated.

Similarly, Sachidanandam from Vilangudi also urged not to open sand quarry as around eight districts in the region depended on as many as 22 borewells in the Kollidam bed for drinking water.

“If the sand quarry has been made functional, even the combined drinking water scheme spearheaded by the state government will be affected,” he said in the petition.