Representative image of a national highway.
Credit: iStock Photo
A Kerala village has been witnessing strong protest by the local people, including women and children, against razing of hillocks of the region for taking laterite for national highway development.
Mattappally near Mavelikara in Alappuzha district is witnessing the mass protest.
Despite the decision taken at a recent all party meeting chaired by agriculture minister P Prasad to stop quarrying of the laterite until further examination by the district administration on the concerns raised by the local people, the contractor involved resumed quarrying by the wee hours of Monday with police protection.
But local people led by ward members assembled and squatted on the road and prevented trucks from carrying the laterite. The contractor maintained that he did not receive any stop memo and also had an earlier court order in his favour.
The agriculture minister also said that since the contractor was having High Court order in his favour there were restrictions for the government in issuing the stop memo.
Local people alleged that razing of the hillocks will affect the ecology of the locality and hence they would allow it at any cost. Left front MLAs and local body members were also backing the stir.
As the protest continued, revenue authorities intervened and asked the contractors to put on hold quarrying activities for the time being. The district administration is likely to inform the court about the ecological impacts of the quarrying.