Villagers in and around Tamaraipakkam have been waging a battle against sand mining in the Kosathalaiyar River bed with a series of protests for the last one week.

The villagers said the indiscriminate mining of sand over the years from the river bed had led to depletion of ground water in several of the agrarian villages located along the river in the Tiruvallur district. “The sand was accumulated over centuries and preserved the ground water table. But for a few people to make money, it is being taken away in a matter of a few years,” said Balaji, who is leading the struggle group to stop sand mining.

Even Metro Water  pumps ground water from these villages to meet the demands of the Chennai city. “Also, for most of village panchayats in and around Tamaraipakkam, the ground water is drawn from borewells in this river bank. If the sand is taken away, ground water will get depleted and we will be left with no water for agriculture and drinking,” said Balaji............Read more

Source web page: The New Indian Express