Brick making is a common sight in rural Tamil Nadu around Chennai as the red clay is readily available and the demand for building materials ever growing. Structures like these dot the countryside as the bricks get slowly sold and removed. It is generally a tough livelihood done by the very poor at the margins and doesn’t provide them a very good life. It leaves the land pockmarked and unsuitable for later agriculture. But with the insatiable demand of the growing cities for bricks, sand and gravel, the mining and brick-making activities are not going to diminish any time soon. Captions and Photo source: ©© McKay Savage
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Allegations of illegal beach sand mining in southern Tamil Nadu gain considerable strength. Through an order issued on August 8, the government suspended beach sand mining operations in Tuticorin district.
Intensifying their actions, fishermen urged the government to enforce a blanket ban on beach sand mining not only in Tuticorin but also in the neighbouring Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts. The fisherfolk claimed that they bore the brunt of the indiscriminate mining activity in the coastal belt, which resulted in considerable loss of livelihood and serious health problems. Local residents and officials “are scared of the sand mafia”…
Arrest illegal beach sand miners: Tuticorin Bishop, Business Standard
The protest against the illegal mining of precious beach sand minerals gained further strength with the Tuticorin Roman Catholic Bishop Yvon Ambroise urging the government to ban mining and confiscate the ill-gotten wealth of the miners…
Years Of Illegal Sand Mining Take Its Toll On Tuticorin Coast, South Eastern India, NDTV
People on Coastline Suffering Due to Sand Mining, India, A Video
