A scientific assessment of the impact of quarry blasts is yet to take place in Kozhikode despite the increasing number of complaints about the irreparable damage it creates on nearby houses and buildings.
Environmental activists and local action committees fighting against unregulated projects say that the quarry operators are trying to escape from their responsibility for compensation in the absence of any tough stance by local bodies or the Geology department.
“Though the police claim that the reason behind the death of a migrant worker from Nepal at a quarry in Thottumukkam on Saturday was the caving in of a rock in the area, there was no proper investigation to rule out the allegations that the rock came off due to an uncontrolled blast,” said an environmental activist from Mukkom. He said the lack of a regular monitoring mechanism to prevent unregulated blasts and the alleged violation in safekeeping of explosives was visible everywhere.
Environmental activists from Mukkom claim that the complaints raised by some of the local action councils about the suspected use of high-power electric detonators are still remaining ignored in panchayats such as Karassery, Kodiyathur, and Koodaranhi. Though there are about 120 granite quarries in Kozhikode, the police and revenue squads just conduct casual visits, they said.
Though high-security measures are recommended for the safekeeping of magazine houses in quarries to resist incidents of fire, many are still located in garden lands without proper surveillance. Kerala Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti activists alleged that migrant workers who do not have any professional training in handling explosives are managing the show in many quarries. It is at a time when the mining rules recommend the presence of at least three trained persons, they said.
The call from action councils to check the validity of certificates secured by quarry operators in handling explosives also remains overlooked. The leaders of some of the local action councils in the district say the Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives can easily verify the details if the local bodies concerned are willing to take it up with the support of Revenue and Geology department officials.
Meanwhile, a recent order of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission to conduct a vibration test in one of the quarries at Thamarassery following mass public complaints has come as a matter of joy for many local residents. They point out that similar action should be considered in the case of all granite quarries that pose threat to life and property.
