Residents of Thuvariman in Tirupparankundram panchayat submitted a petition at the Collectorate here on Tuesday to stop alleged illegal sand mining in a waterbody there.

They said that even though permission had been given for sand mining only for three months, illegal mining activities were continuing throughout the year.

“The tank bed has been deepened at least by 10 to 20 feet and the water retention capacity of the waterbody has been greatly affected. In the last two years, the tank hasn’t been filled up during the monsoons,” said L. Vijaya Saravanan, a resident.

In their petition, the residents stated that a majority of the people among the 2,000 families were dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and there were 600 acres of agricultural land in the area which was irrigated with the help of the water from the tank............Read more

Source web page: The Hindu