Residents, under the aegis of Samyuktha Samara Samithi, will intensify their protest against soil extraction by levelling a hillock at Mattappally in Palamel grama panchayat, near Mavelikara.
The day-night protest against the mining completed seven days on Sunday. On the day, members of the samithi visited houses in the local body seeking support for the agitation. The samithi said that the protest would continue till the soil extraction was stopped permanently.
Residents fear that “indiscriminate’‘ mining would be detrimental to the environment and result in an acute drinking water shortage in the region. Earlier, the State government and the High Court permitted soil extraction from Mattappally. The residents, however, have filed an appeal in the court challenging the single-Bench order. The move to extract soil before a decision by the High Court’s Division Bench infuriated the residents and resulted in protests.
The samithi demanded a probe into the police action against protesters last month. On November 10, residents clashed with the police over the removal of soil for the development of the National Highway 66. The mining activities resumed two days later but halted immediately following another round of protest. An all-party meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad on November 16, 2023, decided to suspend soil extraction until District Collector John V. Samuel submitted a detailed report to the State government.
However, on November 27, the contractor resumed soil extraction at Mattappally forcing residents to hit the streets. They blocked trucks transporting soil extracted from the area and launched indefinite day-night agitation. The protesters, a few days ago, allowed the trucks to leave the area after unloading the soil at the hill. Though soil extraction has been halted following the protest, two excavators remain at the hill.
The Collector who was asked to look into the mining permit issued by the Department of Mining and Geology and whether standard operating procedures were followed at Mattapally submitted the report to Agriculture Minister last week. The High Court is expected to consider the case later this week.
