VALPOI
When authorities failed to act on their complaints regarding many stone quarrying activities in the village, aggrieved locals took their own action on Thursday and forcibly stopped activity at a stone quarry in Pissurlem.
Officials later seized machinery worth Rs 50 lakh from the laterite stone quarry.
Locals said there are about 40 stone quarries in Pissurlem village alone and though many of them are operating on government land, authorities had not taken steps to stop the activity. They also alleged large-scale felling of trees in the area.
They said a number of complaints had been filed to demand a halt in these stone quarrying activities as it was causing a nuisance in the village, but said authorities had not taken much action on their grievances.
On Thursday morning, locals decided to take action on their own and a group of women marched to one stone quarry in Pissurlem and stopped work at the site.
Sensing trouble, workers at the site abandoned their work, machinery and fled from the site.
The women then alerted authorities and warned that they would not leave the site till action was initiated by authorities.
A team of officials from Sattari taluka and mining department along with a police team went to the site and seized machinery worth Rs 50 lakh, which included a JCB, four power tillers, four generators and four laterite stone cutting machines. The seized equipment was later handed over to Valpoi police.
When contacted, Adv Rachna Parab said a large number of stone quarries have been operating in the area.
“Complaints in this regard have been lodged at the police station, Sattari deputy collector and Mamledar, but no action has been taken so far. This is the reason why locals went to stop the stone quarrying activity,” said Adv Parab.
