‘Curb overloading of trucks to Kerala from Tamil Nadu quarries’
TENKASI: Former MLA K Raviarunan, who is leading the protests against illegal quarrying and transportation of minerals from Tamil Nadu to Kerala, on Sunday demanded Collector S Gopala Sundararaj discuss the violation of rules by mineral-laden trucks, during the meeting of the District Road Safety Committee.
Citing an order issued by the State government on May 25 to reconstitute the District Road Safety Committee following a direction from the Supreme Court to strictly implement Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, Raviarunan demanded Sundararaj, who is the committee chairman, to ensure legal action against the trucks that carry excess load of minerals to Kerala. "Since such trucks, which possess permit pass only for two units, are transporting up to 80 tonnes of minerals, the safety of the road users, roads and the water pipelines laid along the road, are under serious risk," he said.
The former MLA also urged the Collector to set up a roadside weighing machine with a 150-tonne capacity between Shengottai and Puliyarai to weigh the mineral-laden trucks and seize those violating norms. "The mineral-laden trucks should not be allowed to run during peak hours and also during school hours. A board with the load-bearing capacity should be displayed at each village, union, Other District Roads (ODR) and Major District Roads (MDR). With many trucks not adhering to the load-bearing rules, the number of road accidents and damages to water pipelines is on a rise in the southern districts. The roads are also completely battered resulting in a great loss to the State exchequer," he said. Raviarunan also blamed the police for allegedly not acting against the persons transporting the high loads of minerals outside Tamil Nadu.