There was nothing sudden about protests against beach mineral mining in the Southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Agitations actually began way back in 1996; they attained critical mass only last month after former Thoothukudi collector Ashish Kumar on August 6 appointed a panel to examine the alleged violations by sand mining firms in Vilathikulam taluk. He set up the panel following complaints from fishermen. The panel, divided into two groups, inspected sand mining units at Vaipar, Vembar and Periyasamypuram and submitted its report the next day, after which Ashish Kumar criticised mining giant VV Minerals and told the media that criminal action would be taken against it. The company was also charged with illegally quarrying 80,000 cubic feet of raw sand and 2.31 lakh metric tons of mineral sand. Ashish Kumar further maintained that a complaint had been registered at Kulathur police station against the VV Minerals.
The next day, Ashish Kumar received transfer orders; and on the following day new Collector Ravi Kumar took charge. The same day, the State government appointed a high-level panel under Revenue Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi to inspect the sand mining quarries and submit a report within a month. Meanwhile, fishermen turned restless and picketed the offices of the Collector and the SP demanding expeditious action against the sand mafia. Initially the fishermen were united and submitted petitions demanding that the police register an FIR against VV Minerals based on their complaint. Fahtima Babu, an environmental activist and founder, Veeranganai, an NGO fighting for the rights of the women, spearheaded the protests.
In a petition to the SP, she claimed that the mining companies had been plundering the natural resource illegally for 25 years along the sea coast and deprived the livelihood of fishermen. She also demanded legal action against the sand mining companies.
On August 12, the Bedi panel started inspecting the sand units at Thoothukudi district. Fissures within the fishermen/coastal communities erupted when the panel started meeting the fishermen. Divisions among them came to fore with a section of the fishermen extending support to the ‘illegal mining of beach sand’. This vocal section has been accused of being influenced by the mining mafia. However, the Meenavar Iyikiya Munnani (MIM) continues to remain in the forefront organising the fishermen against the sand mining mafia. Two days later, on August 14, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), following complaints of illegal mining at Thoothukudi, ordered a complete ban on mining beach sand in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This order strengthened the protest of the fishermen.
The Bedi panel arrived at Thoothukudi on August 19 for the second phase of inspection and met the fishermen and the owners of the sand mining units. According to Subash, MIM Thoothukudi district secretary, 60,000 metric tons of mineral sand had been kept hidden in 33 warehouses throughout the district. On August 20, the Bedi panel questioned Vaikundarajan, Chairman and Managing Director of VV Minerals, who shared documents related to sand mining.
Amid the struggle, fishermen at Periyathalai village near Sathankulam impounded a truck carrying mineral sand.
Fishermen representatives demanded that the district administration file an FIR against the lorry as it had violated the order of the NGT. They further alleged that the lorry carried excess sand and refused to release the vehicle. Later, they yielded after the intervention of the Collector.
On September 6, during the Fishermen Grievance Day Meeting at the Collectorate the issue once again came to the fore with the fisherfolk complaining about the pollution of sea water due top rampant sand mining. They also demanded compensation for the people of coastal villages.
On September 17, the State government halted mining of beach minerals and gave the Bedi panel the nod to examine the remaining 71 sand mining units in the four districts of Madurai, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.
