Ban on white stone mining sought

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, former gram panchayat member T S Puttaswamy said that mining for white stone has been going on in the village. However, the recurring blasts have damaged houses in surrounding areas and was playing truant to the harmony in the village.

He said that RCC houses built 20-30 years ago have developed cracks and a choultry used to hold marriages in the village has been damaged due to the mining.

Pointing out that mining activity is damaging agriculture, farmer T M Prakash said that several ryots have been injured due to splinters from the explosions. He said that even a pond in the village has dried hampering agriculture.

Demanding a ban on mining, Prakash further alleged that ear-splitting explosions are giving rise to tension among women and children.

Youth Congress leader P V Vijaykumar said that mining landlords are trying to split the villagers. He said that the mining landlords had failed to provide compensation to the family of a security guard, who had died at the mine.

When villagers and members of deceased security guard protested, they were given a compensation of only ` 8,000, he added.

When villagers tried to lodge a complaint, the mining landlords used political influence to ensure that the cases weren’t registered.

He said that the taluk administration has no information about mining. If an investigation was conducted then it could be ascertained if the mining was legal or not, he added.

Talur grama panchayat member T P Prakash and Mahadevaswamy were present.