MADURAI: After a protest from farmers against the indiscriminate quarrying of soil from Karisal Kulam irrigation tank in Sivarakottai near Kallikudi for a bridge construction, the district officials, during a peace committee meeting held on Tuesday, imposed strict restrictions on the private agency carrying out the excavation.
A senior official involved in the talks said, "The company has been directed to restrict operations to daytime -- between 8 am and 5 pm. We have instructed it to limit the mining depth to just one foot in the designated areas of the tank. We have assured the villagers that monitoring will be intensified to prevent any further violations," the official added.
Over the past few months, farmers in Sivarakottai had been alleging severe irregularities in the quarrying of soil from the Karisal Kulam tank for the bridge construction project. The farmers rely on the waterbody for the irrigation of nearly 127 acres of farmland.
Initially, they protested against the mining of soil, claiming that it affected the waterbody's capacity and structural integrity. Following an intervention by revenue officials and assurances to regulate the mining, the farmers agreed to allow the project to proceed.
However, the farmers continued to make allegations that several norms were being flouted. S Sivakumar, a representative of farmers from the village, said, "Pits have been dug up to a depth of 23 ft inside the tank. Such deep excavation will significantly reduce the storage capacity and harm the irrigation potential."
The protesters also raised concerns about the location and the timing of quarrying. M Ramalingam, another representative of the farmers, pointed out that excavation was taking place near the tank's inflow canal.
"Quarrying near the canal will obstruct the flow of water into the tank and could even lead to a breach. If they must quarry, they should do so in the lower-lying areas, which could deepen the tank and improve storage," he said.
Further, the farmers demanded that the excavated pits be filled with hard soil rather than loose soil, warning that the latter could result in the formation of sinkholes during water flow, posing a danger to cattle and farmers.
Following a series of petitions, a peace talk was convened on Tuesday under the leadership of Kallikudi tahsildar, during which strict restrictions were imposed on the respective firm.