Protest is brewing against the working of granite quarries in Vengapally grama panchayat in Wayanad district.
As many as four granite quarries were functioning in various parts of the panchayat and most of the quarries were functioning by flouting the norms set by the Mining and Geology Department, P. Kunjahammed, chairman of an action committee of villagers, said.
A quarry unit in ward 9 was functioning in a human habitation and the explosions from the quarry were posing a severe threat to normal life, he said.
Around 100 families live in the area and the working of the quarry unit had upset their lives. Many houses and wells in the area were damaged by the vibrations caused by the loud explosions, he said.
The indiscriminate quarrying had adversely affected the natural water sources such as springs and streams in the area, K. Damodaran Kuruppu, convenor of the organisation, said.
The movement of heavy vehicles to transport large granite boulders had damaged the roads too, he said.
Though the quarry owners were directed to alert the villagers before explosions by sounding sirens, they were yet to obey it, he said.
Now, the quarry owners were competing to exploit maximum resources within the given period by using heavy machinery such as excavators, rock-breakers, and compressors, he said.
Though many complaints were submitted to officials concerned, they were yet to adopt any measures to address the issues, he said.
They warned the authorities that if the grama panchayat did not cancel the licence given to the quarries, the people would launch an indefinite agitation.