Hartal on June 21 against mineral sand-mining in Alappuzha district in Kerala
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Protests organised by Karimanal Ghanana Virudha (*21*) Samithi to held in coastal areas of district on Monday
A dawn-to-dusk hartal shall be noticed in Purakkad grama panchayat on June 21 by the Karimanal Ghanana Virudha (*21*) Samithi against mineral sand-mining at Thottappally in Alappuzha district.
Suresh Kumar S., chairman of the Samithi, mentioned that other than the hartal, protests can be held in the coastal areas of the district on Monday.
Local residents have not too long ago intensified their protest against sand-mining. The indefinite relay satyagraha being staged below the aegis of the samithi entered the tenth day on Saturday. Protests are additionally being carried out by Janakeeya Samara Samithi.
After a interval of lull, elimination and transportation of mineral-rich sand from Thottappally ‘pozhi’ (sandbar at sea mouth) was resumed final month. According to officers, the sand is eliminated to make sure easy circulation of floodwaters from Kuttanad into the ocean. The sand is being transported to Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML) and Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL).
Although the native residents, particularly the fishermen group, shouldn’t be against sand elimination from the pozhi, which is an annual course of, it’s up in arms against the transportation of the mineral-rich sand.
Flood mitigation
KMML and IREL began to move mineral-rich sand from the pozhi final 12 months after the federal government accorded permission to extract two lakh cubic metres of sand. Prior to that, the sand faraway from the estuary was stored close by.
Residents alleged that the federal government was engaged in large-scale mineral sand-mining in the guise of flood mitigation. The shoreline is liable to extreme sea assault. A lot of individuals in Thottappally and close by areas have been displaced when their homes have been destroyed in latest years.
Residents worry that the sand-mining would show detrimental to these dwelling alongside the shorelines from Valiazheekal to Punnapra. They demanded an instantaneous halt to mining actions in the world.
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