Residents of Mullandram village panchayat, mostly farmers, blocked Arani-Mullandram Main Road and seized three buses, including a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) one, on Friday during their protest against a new granite quarry near the village.
The police said that around 9.40 a.m., the protesters blocked the road after blue metal was brought to the village to lay a road to transport granite blocks once the quarry starts functioning in the coming weeks. “After a long struggle, we shut down a similar quarry some 15 years ago. Now, another quarry has come up,” said E. Jayaprakash, a long-time resident of the village.
Agricultural areas such as Gurukulam, Kittankudisai, Mettukudisai, Alanthangal, and Krishnavaram are part of Mullandram village panchayat. In most of the 1,800 hectares, paddy and groundnuts are cultivated twice a year. Residents said work on the quarry had been in progress for more than a fortnight. Petitions had been given to Tiruvannamalai Collector B. Murugesh on August 28, during the weekly grievances meeting at the Collectorate, asking him to cancel the quarry’s licence.
The police said a Vellore-based private contractor, K. Saravanan, obtained the permit from the Department of Geology and Mining to start the quarry back in 2019. However, due to his ill-health, Mr. Saravanan was unable to start operations. Only in July 2021 did the department renew his licence. After many delays and despite strong opposition from residents, he decided to open the quarry. As part of the work, laying of a new road between the village and hillock started a few days ago.
As residents blocked the road, traffic was hit on the busy stretch. Immediately, a team of revenue officials and Arani taluk police, led by K. Manjula, Tahsildar (Arani), reached the spot and pacified the residents.
After more than an hour of talks, residents dispersed with assurance from the authorities that the operation of the quarry would be put on hold until further directions from the district administration. “Peace meetings will be held between residents and the quarry owner in the coming days to ease the situation. Thereafter, a decision will be taken,” Ms. Manjula told The Hindu.
