THRISSUR: Massive land mining and levelling works are going on atop the Mullakkara Hill in Thrissur Corporation limits allegedly under cover of Onam holidays.
Local people have now come out against the geology officials in Thrissur Collectorate for not taking any action even after they alerted them two times before holidays.
"The hill is located in the catchment area of Peechi Dam and extends till Kuthiran Climb. A few months ago, mining was stopped at the MRC area of the hills where large-scale soiling mining was going on under the pretext of building a house for a low-income family.
After the local people complained, the mining stopped, and the inquiry by revenue officials found a vast quantity of soil mined than necessary for a house," RTI activist P. B. Satheesh who lives in the locality said.
He said that several hundreds of families are residing below the hill and revenue officials had shifted four families to the camps fearing landslides during the 2018 deluge.
District geologist M. C. Kishore said that he was not aware of the issue and his permission was required only for taking the soil elsewhere.
"However, if there is a complaint regarding safety, geologists will conduct an inquiry," he added.
Leo Lewis Eluvathingal, who is a prominent builder in Thrissur said that he was planning to build a house on the hill on the land spread across a few acres which he owns and he had taken the local people into confidence.
"I will apply to the civic body for the building permit later, and now the road works are going on there," he said.
