Quarrying changes landscapes – sometimes with devastating consequences.
Last year, we posted about how 'Uncontrolled sand mining led to Kerala floods' which claimed hundreds of lives.
Exactly 12 months after Kerala witnessed its worst flood in a century in August 2018, where 433 people were killed, the state has been hit by another natural calamity that has claimed more than a hundred lives so far.
This time, most of the destruction was due to landslides – and quarrying in the region "played a major role". One environmentalist said:
The government did not learn a lesson from last year’s flood. Now, the once-in-a-century phenomenon happened twice within a span of a year. The government should stop the mining mafia from exploiting the environmentally sensitive areas
The finger is being pointed to the dilution of environmental regulations; "25 out of the 31 locations which experienced landslides came under the Ecologically Sensitive Zones".
...since the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government came to power in Kerala in 2016, it has severely diluted environmental regulations for mining and quarrying... It further reduced the minimum permissible distance limit from 100 metres to 50 metres from residential buildings...
#NewsAlert | Kerala flood death toll rises to 93. Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds in Kothamangalam taluk area in Ernakulum. On account of land slips and landslides, Kerala bans the functioning of quarries for an indefinite period.#FloodFury pic.twitter.com/AET7ksfkN9— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 14, 2019
