CHENNAI: The villagers of Pandeshwaram in Tiruvallur district have raised the alarm on what they allege is unbridled encroachment and rampant sand mining that has allegedly reduced the size of a lake from 330 acres 10 years ago to just 250 acres now. This, assertion is based on their study of revenue maps over the years. The lake was a key source of water for irrigation — many of the 700 families are engaged in agriculture, cultivating paddy. Further, the lake was once at the heart of a thriving eco-system that saw migratory birds visiting every year, villagers said, adding this was no more the case.
The villagers allege that people from the neighbouring villages of Gowdipuram, Bangarampettai and Alathur have been engaged in mining of sand from the lake bed over the past decade. Complaints against this have been forwarded to the Tiruvallur Collector, Tahsildar, revenue officer, Public Works Department (Kosathalaiyar), Chief Minister’s Cell and local police by Parthasarathy VM, on behalf of the village. Parthasarathy, who hails from the village also has a farm there and runs an organic vegatable shop in Chennai. While, none of the authorities appear to have acted on the complaints, local police claimed they had intensified patrolling in the area in the past six months. Yet, even last Friday, some 75-80 truckloads of sand were smuggled out of the village overnight, alleged Dinesh, a farmer. Interestingly, police admitted that trucks had entered the village but claimed they had not taken any sand. They dismissed it as a one-off incident and said they let the culprits off with a warning.
The villagers disagreed this was a ‘one-off’’. “In one part of the lake bed, a person from the neighbouring village had dug up sand to a depth of 60ft. At various parts they have dug up sand to depths of 10ft to 50ft,” alleged Dinesh.
According to the villagers, the sand mining activities have unfolded in a systematic manner with persons from the neighbouring villages having blocked inlets to the lake, destroyed bunds to facilitate the movement of trucks to mine sand and constructed encroachments in the form of buildings on the lake bed. Making matters worse, the seven or eight brick kilns in the village are alleged to be removing the clayey layer of the lake bed and supplying it to these and other such kilns in the district. The villagers believe that the sand, collected using JCBs (earth movers) by locals, is handed over to contractors in Avadi, Ambattur, Pattabiram, Red Hills, and other parts of the district. “In one night they manage to extract around 50–100 truckloads of sand with at least five to 10 lorries ferrying the loads. Each load of sand is sold at `15,000-20,000,” claimed Ramesh, another farmer who said he had seen sand being mined.
The impact of the sand mining and encroachments can be seen in the disappearance of the flora and fauna that had once thrived around the lake, said many in the village. Further, ground water levels had fallen from 30ft to 80ft and agriculture had taken a hit as the key source of irrigation was vanishing, claimed villagers. “I remember seeing flamingos and other migratory birds flock over the lake during the summer about 15 years ago. The lake would provide ample water to grow paddy. But even after Cyclone Vardah last year, there was water in the lake only for a week,” said Sudhakar, a middle-aged farmer.
Parthasarathy claimed the alleged offenders had political backing. “If this isn’t stopped immediately there will be no sign of the lake’s existence in the next five years,” he warned.
Police, however, claimed that any sand mining that was taking place was on a small scale. “As the lake is surrounded by four villages, if any vehicle tries to enter inside the villagers quickly let us know. The Tahsildar also frequents the village for inspections,” said a police official from Muthapudupet police station. PWD officials said they had received complaints from the village and would look into the matter. The Tiruvallur collector was not available for comment.
(Villagers refused to give their full names)