Residents’ plea to close stone quarry
Several houses have developed cracks, become weak and are on verge of collapsing
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-11-04 05:54 GMT
Coimbatore: Around 40 families from Ramapattinam village, in Pollachi taluk, live in dread as blasted stones frequently fly from a stone quarry, damaging houses in the neighbourhood.
The residents, in a petition to collector Archana Patnaik on Monday, complained that powerful blasts trigger stones to fly and fall on people. Also, frequent tremors occur due to the blasting of rocks in the quarry.
"Several houses have developed cracks, have become weak and are almost on the verge of collapsing. They use powerful blasts to break rocks and this gives out deafening sounds day in and out," said Mr K. Anandan, a resident of the village.
"The quarry starts blasting rocks at 5 in the morning and this goes on till night. In fact, we are unable to bear the sight of children trembling in fear whenever a blast goes off. Elderly persons also feel disturbed and frightened. Loud blasts also disturb the peaceful ambience of this residential area," said another resident.
The residents claimed that during a blast, gravel and stones fly in the air and fall on the roofs of the houses in the neighbourhood. "In fact, several houses with tiled roofing were damaged after rocks fell on them," said Ms S. Maheswari, a resident.
As blasts are triggered by powerful dynamite, chemical smell pervades the area, causing respiratory problems among children. The petitioners alleged that the quarry owners threaten villagers who dare to question the use of powerful explosives to blast rocks.
The residents claimed that they could not even graze cattle in the open fields as the dust that emerges during a blast settles down on the grass. The collector promised to look into the problem.