Following demands from environmental activists, the district administration will check all major quarrying sites to reassess the probability of landslips and other environmental hazards.
At a recent meeting, the district-level disaster management authority gave the green light for the initiative which will begin in a fortnight.
Accordingly, a team led by a geologist will visit the sites and prepare a report on possible hazards. The squad will re-examine all approval documents obtained by quarry owners. Representatives of the local bodies concerned too will be part of the squad.
The disaster management authority approved the plan following a demand from environmental bodies which pointed to threats posed by quarries in ecologically-sensitive areas. For the record, Karassery, Kodiyathur and Koodaranhi panchayats had faced the wrath of the recent floods. Revenue officials said the team would pay special attention to areas where soil piping was noticed. Following floods, families from a few suspected locations in Mukkom were relocated to safer places, they pointed out.
An environmental activist from Mukkom said soil piping, a sign of possible mudlslips, was mainly visible in hilly areas where quarry operations were in full swing even during the monsoon season. Some quarries even violated the stop order issued by the Collector and went ahead with their business, he claimed. The activist also argued that a majority of the 75 quarries recently identified during a study by the Kerala Forest Research Institute in earthquake-prone points were in north Kerala, and that Kozhikode too had been contributing to it.
Meanwhile, Geology Department sources said genuine concerns and complaints raised by individuals and organisations would be examined during the oncoming field study. The quantity of resources extracted, details of explosives used for operations, number of workers, area under mining, and the time of operations will be thoroughly examined to ensure the lawful functioning of quarries, they added.