Residents of Minnur village near Ambur town in Tirupattur on October 4 blocked tipper lorries and tractors that damaged the underground water pipelines and roads in the village.
The vehicles carry loads of blue metal from two private quarries round-the-clock. These quarries have operated near a hillock, around 10 km from Ambur town, for over a decade. “The pipelines laid by the village panchayat are the major source of water for domestic consumption in the village. Besides them, the key stretches that connect the village with neighbouring areas were also damaged by the continuous movement of the lorries,” said S. Ramu, a resident.
Unlike before, when lorries and tractors from the quarries used to take the Vinnamangalam Main Road to reach the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) via Ambur town, they have been using the Madhanur Main Road via Minnur village for the past few weeks citing shorter distance for reaching the highway. The distance between the quarries and the highway via Minnur village is only around 5 km, while it is over 10 km if the vehicles take the Vinnamangalam route.
The residents said that the stretches around Minnur village have been well-laid with funds from the Directorate of Panchayats. Using these routes saves fuel costs for the lorry and tractor operators of the quarries. Though the quarries are located within the limits of Vinnamangalam village panchayat, the vehicles use the Minnur village route, damaging civic amenities in the village. Rash driving by lorries and tractors also pose risk to children senior citizens, they added.
Based on alerts from quarry operators, revenue officials and police led by S. Kumari, Tahsildar (Ambur), reached the spot and urged the residents to release the vehicles they seized. After over two hours of talks, residents allowed the vehicles to pass with assurance from revenue officials that the damaged water pipelines will be repaired and roads will be relaid by the quarry operators.
“Over-speeding and running hours by lorries will be monitored by a special team to prevent such incidents. The civic infrastructure in the villages will be protected,” Kumari, Tasildar (Ambur), told The Hindu.
Revenue officials also told the villagers that the village route would not be used by the lorries to reach the highway.
