Residents, under the aegis of Samyuktha Samara Samithi, will intensify their protest against soil extraction by levelling a hillock at Mattappally in Palamel grama panchayat, near Mavelikara.
The day-night protest against the mining completed seven days on Sunday. On the day, members of the samithi visited houses in the local body seeking support for the agitation. The samithi said that the protest would continue till the soil extraction was stopped permanently.
Residents fear that “indiscriminate’‘ mining would be detrimental to the environment and result in an acute drinking water shortage in the region. Earlier, the State government and the High Court permitted soil extraction from Mattappally. The residents, however, have filed an appeal in the court challenging the single-Bench order. The move to extract soil before a decision by the High Court’s Division Bench infuriated the residents and resulted in protests.
