Residents of Thuvariman in Tirupparankundram panchayat submitted a petition at the Collectorate here on Tuesday to stop alleged illegal sand mining in a waterbody there.
They said that even though permission had been given for sand mining only for three months, illegal mining activities were continuing throughout the year.
“The tank bed has been deepened at least by 10 to 20 feet and the water retention capacity of the waterbody has been greatly affected. In the last two years, the tank hasn’t been filled up during the monsoons,” said L. Vijaya Saravanan, a resident.
In their petition, the residents stated that a majority of the people among the 2,000 families were dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and there were 600 acres of agricultural land in the area which was irrigated with the help of the water from the tank.
“In the last two years, farming activities have been affected severely, owing to rampant sand mining in Thuvariman tank and encroachments along it,” the residents alleged in the petition.
The petition further claimed that the illegal sand miners had earned huge profits last year and had begun mining sand once again this year, ahead of the cultivation season.
“To prevent the farmers from being affected this year as well, the district administration should curb these activities and restore the tank as an effective storage point to help irrigation,” said Mr. Saravanan.
