Madurai, Tamil Nadu: Following complaints regarding the illegal operation of stone quarries in the Kondaiyampatti area near Alanganallur, Madurai District Superintendent of Police (SP) Devanathan conducted an on-site inspection. The public has also urged the Minister for Minerals to conduct a comprehensive review. Allegations had arisen that five stone quarries were operating unlawfully in the Vannathikaradu area—located at the foothills of Vaguthu Malai near Kondaiyampatti, Vadipatti Taluk. Complaints stated that rocks were being blasted and extracted day and night, and that mineral resources were being transported via lorries through encroached waterways. It was further alleged that these activities caused a drop in groundwater levels and blocked water flow due to path encroachments. Accusations were also made that quarry owners were reaping massive profits while causing a revenue loss of several crores to the government, and that they had issued death threats to members of the public who questioned these practices. Against this backdrop, Madurai District SP Devanathan visited the site to inspect the stone extraction zones and the hilly terrain. Upon his arrival, the SP found the quarry premises deserted, with neither owners nor workers present. The absence of Revenue Department officials—who are required to provide information regarding the quarries to the district police—raised suspicions among the public. Speaking to reporters after the visit, the Superintendent of Police (SP) stated that he had come to inspect the site and verify documents with the quarry owners and at the local police station, following reports of illegal operations continuing round-the-clock in the Kondaiyampatti area near Alanganallur, Madurai district. He urged the public to report any such illegal quarrying activities immediately to the District Collector, the Revenue Department, the Department of Geology and Mining, the SP’s office, or his own WhatsApp number—channels available 24 hours a day—and assured that strict action would be taken against illegal quarries. However, members of the public and social activists have expressed suspicion, noting that neither the quarry owners, the workers, nor Revenue Department officials were present during the SP’s inspection. Furthermore, given that the Minister for Geology and Mining had recently announced in the Legislative Assembly that a comprehensive inspection of illegal quarries would be conducted, local residents and social activists have requested that a detailed inquiry be carried out under the Minister’s leadership to determine whether the quarries inspected by the SP are indeed operating illegally.
Our Citizen Reporter – Madurai
Mr. Ravi
