Palakkad: Locals will stop illegal loads from the granite quarry operating at Mambra in Pirairi Panchayat from Monday. Local housewives have stated that they are stopping the loads on the road even though they have filed a complaint against illegal gravel trafficking.

The locals had staged a strike in front of the Pirairi Gram Panchayat, raising various issues such as the destruction of houses in the area due to the operation of the quarry. After the discussion with the locals, the authorities came to the position that the operation of the quarry is legal. But the main complaint of housewives is that this discussion was farce.

Locals question the silence of the authorities

After this, the housewives say that despite filing a complaint against the quarry from the panchayat to the district collector, no action has been taken. Taking advantage of this situation, tons of granite are smuggled from the quarry without following any rules. The concerned officials do not conduct any inquiry even though the number of stones transported per day is estimated.

About 150 tippers are transporting stones on this route in violation of the law. The quarry owner is threatening the authorities by saying that he has a police protection order from the High Court. But the housewives allege that no such order exists and the fake order was given earlier to conduct blasting test in the quarry for one month.

Forward with the struggle

Even the state government has a huge loss of revenue due to transporting more than twice the permitted amount of stone. The housewives said that they had to go to enforce the law because those who were supposed to implement the law did not do it. The protestors stated that they know the information about the pass, which is allowed to take stones from the quarry daily, and from Monday, no lorry will pass through this route.