<div>Despite repeated incidents of drowning, the open quarry pits, mostly on the City outskirts, have continued to be the death traps during the summer.<br /><br />It has been three years since directions from the High Court and Lokayukta to district administrations to take immediate steps to fill these open pits, some of which are even 200-300 feet deep. However, it looks to be an uphill task for the administration. <br /><br />Various departments responsible to address these dangerous pits are pointing at each other. Urban DC Shankar told Deccan Herald that a list of open pits was prepared and it has been sent to various agencies, including BBMP, Mines and Geology and rural administration to find ways to fill the pits on a priority basis. <br /><br />“In Anekal region particularly, we had decided to fill pits endangering lives of people and cattle with granite slurry. For this, we have also taken no objection from the pollution control department. The note has also been issued to BBMP to take the debris from <br />demolition sites to such open pits. The debris from the demolition drive at Sarakki Lake was also taken to such pits. It takes some time to fill all of them,” he said.<br /><br />However, people of Bettahalsur, who have been complaining against illegal quarrying in and around their village, say that no abandoned quarry pit has been filled so far. <br /><br />Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi said the administration was yet to act on his direction in this regard. “People of Bettahalsur had filed a complaint about illegal quarrying sites with photographs of cattles, trucks falling into 200-300 ft deep pits. The Mines and Geology Department officials had no remedy for such pits. I had directed both rural administration and Mines and Geology Department to either fill them or put up a fence immediately to stop accidents,” Justice Adi said.<br /><br />Mines and Geology Department Director Shankar Narayan admitted that as per rules it is the quarry owners who will have to fill the pits. However, officials have failed to ensure this. “Owners will have to fill the pits. The department has to make sure that these pits are filled when it is abandoned by the owners. For this, we have created District Mineral Fund to fill the abandoned pits,'' he said.<br /><br /></div>
<div>Despite repeated incidents of drowning, the open quarry pits, mostly on the City outskirts, have continued to be the death traps during the summer.<br /><br />It has been three years since directions from the High Court and Lokayukta to district administrations to take immediate steps to fill these open pits, some of which are even 200-300 feet deep. However, it looks to be an uphill task for the administration. <br /><br />Various departments responsible to address these dangerous pits are pointing at each other. Urban DC Shankar told Deccan Herald that a list of open pits was prepared and it has been sent to various agencies, including BBMP, Mines and Geology and rural administration to find ways to fill the pits on a priority basis. <br /><br />“In Anekal region particularly, we had decided to fill pits endangering lives of people and cattle with granite slurry. For this, we have also taken no objection from the pollution control department. The note has also been issued to BBMP to take the debris from <br />demolition sites to such open pits. The debris from the demolition drive at Sarakki Lake was also taken to such pits. It takes some time to fill all of them,” he said.<br /><br />However, people of Bettahalsur, who have been complaining against illegal quarrying in and around their village, say that no abandoned quarry pit has been filled so far. <br /><br />Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi said the administration was yet to act on his direction in this regard. “People of Bettahalsur had filed a complaint about illegal quarrying sites with photographs of cattles, trucks falling into 200-300 ft deep pits. The Mines and Geology Department officials had no remedy for such pits. I had directed both rural administration and Mines and Geology Department to either fill them or put up a fence immediately to stop accidents,” Justice Adi said.<br /><br />Mines and Geology Department Director Shankar Narayan admitted that as per rules it is the quarry owners who will have to fill the pits. However, officials have failed to ensure this. “Owners will have to fill the pits. The department has to make sure that these pits are filled when it is abandoned by the owners. For this, we have created District Mineral Fund to fill the abandoned pits,'' he said.<br /><br /></div>
