Locals blame illegal quarries for Kerala landslides

Houses were damaged due to deviation of Yendayar river from its natural path

One of the most distressing visuals of this year’s calamity in Kerala was a house on the banks of Manimala river at Mundakayam in Kottayam district collapsing and being swept away in the strong water current within a few seconds.

Right from the spot where once the house stood to the hills on the other side of the river, which is part of the Idukki district, live quarries can be seen.

Root cause

Even as experts attributed the floods and landslides to cloudbursts and uninterrupted rainfall in a short span, a large section of the locals pointed fingers at the massive quarrying activities in the locality as the root cause.

Yendayar is about 10 kilometres from Koottickal in Kottayam that was ravaged by the flood and landslides. A series of landslides at the high-range areas led the Yendayar river to deviate from its original path and destroy houses.

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Locals allege a large number of rocks from the nearby region Valyenthi, which is known for quarries, accumulated at the Yendayar river and leading it to flow through human settlements.

The illegal quarrying activities are the reason for the landslides, Yendayar native Sinumon said.

“Aiming at huge profits, the quarry operators use excessive explosives which are beyond permissible limits for blasting purposes. It is a basic logic that such acts would have its impact on the entire region as the rocks and soil would get displaced and become loose, and tend to fall when it rains,” he added.

A series of landslides and landslips had occurred in the hilly areas of Idukki and Kottayam districts in the recent rains, but only a few incidents in which lives were lost got noticed.

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Locals also alleged the nexus between the politicians and quarrying lobbies.

“On several occasions, I had seen a vehicle of a former legislator from the locality visiting the premises of a prominent quarry owner in the region during the odd hours,” a local trader said on the condition of anonymity.

Legal hurdles feared over solatium

There are concerns over getting due compensation after floods and landslides damaged many houses along the banks of the Manimala river at Koottickal in Kottayam district.

Local sources said that many houses were situated in places where only the owners had possession rights. Since several constructions were reportedly done without following the norms, the government will have legal restrictions in giving compensations.

During the 2018 Kerala floods, the authorities had come across a similar issue. However, relaxation and compensation were eventually given. However, the compensations were not in accordance with the actual loss suffered by the property owners.

Sources said the Kerala government is likely to decide in favour of the affected.