Periodic inspection of the stock of explosive materials kept in large-scale granite quarries in Kozhikode district is yet to take place despite complaints raised by environmental activists and local residents. Leaders of local action committees complain that the police are going by statements of quarry operators without conducting any inspections.
In many of the large-scale quarries, the power of explosion is beyond the permitted capacity. Fearing retaliatory action by quarry operators, the majority of residents are maintaining silence. In Kozhikode, there are nearly 120 active quarries.
“To reduce the number of complaints, quarry operators are adopting the strategy of buying the property of complainants and literally evacuating them from their own land. Many are unable to resist such acts,” said a farmer living close to a quarrying site at Thottumukkam. He said the damage to houses caused by powerful explosions was reported to the police only rarely as quarry operators were preventing such attempts by offering money to complainants.
An environmental activist from Mukkom said vehicles used to ship explosives to granite quarries in the rural areas of Kozhikode were hardly intercepted by any investigation agencies. “There is no idea whether these products reach destinations through legal channel or not,” he pointed out.
A functionary of the Kerala Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti said the rule to ensure the presence of at least two trained persons — a mine manager and a shot firer or blaster — at quarries was not being followed to save costs.
Some of the local residents in Kodiyathur, Karassery and Koodaranhi panchayats said gunpowder magazines (buildings) were constructed by many of the quarry operators near garden land which was a clear violation of existing rules.
When contacted, Revenue Department officials said the Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives was primarily responsible for looking into such complaints and complainants should be ready to approach them confidently. They also claimed that surprise inspections had been conducted on many occasions. However, there were no major incidents of safety violations, they added.