Illegal sand mining Then Penniyar river, activist urges Puducherry L-G to look into it

PUDUCHERRY: Illegal sand mining continues to thrive in the Then Penniyar River around Soriankuppam, Commandamedu, Aratchikuppam, Kuruvinatham in Bahour Taluk, with the government taking no action to curb it, said activists.

The mining had stopped for a few years after an NGT order banned it, the PWD set up a joint collaborative monitoring system, police and revenue officials were put in place, and designated check posts were set up to monitor the movement of illegally mined sand.

However, after the former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi left the UT, the practice has been again raising its head, said V Chandrasekhar, president, Bangaaru Vaickal Neeraadhara Koottamaippu (a tank users association), on whose petition the NGT had passed the orders.

According to Chandrasekhar, the sand is now being transported through the Graveyard Road (Sudukadu Road) and Nagammal Koil, the exact locations where the NGT ordered to set up check posts. Both the check posts have long been closed and repeated requests to reinstate them have fallen on deaf ears, he added. "Sand is now mined even in broad daylight, and transported in lorries. The officials are turning a blind eye to it, which raises a doubt that they are even a party to the ongoing sand-theft which is threatening the fragile river-sand-ecosystem," he said.  

The NGT report had mandated setting up of a special task force comprising government officials to supervise the river basin and take measures to prevent the mining. The task force's activities shall be supervised by the Regional Director, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Chennai (South) periodically. The two check posts shall monitor any illegal action and take action.

It also directed the PWD to set right the damages that had already been caused to the river bed and to repair the tank and river bunds within four months. Chandrasekaran said all these directions were non-existent now in contempt of the NGT order, and giving free access to sand mining. Farmers in Bahour, which is the rice bowl of Puducherry, are afraid to complain to authorities as they get threats from the sand mafia, he added. Chandrasekaran urged the Lt Governor to take immediate action to prevent the sand mining and look into why officials were not taking action against it.