New regulation to curb illegal quarry operation in Andaman

Port Blair, Nov 22 (UNI) The Andaman and Nicobar administration today announced that a new regulation will be soon formed to curb the menace of illegal quarry and crusher operations in the islands.

The regulations will take final shape considering the recommendation submitted by a committee on quarry and crusher operations in South Andaman by Andaman and Nicobar Administration recently.

The regulation will be ready by December this year and probably by January next new rules and regulations will come into force in these remote islands for quarry related operations, Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar said here today.

Addressing a press conference at Port Blair the Lt Governor said that the news regulation will take care of illegal quarry and crusher operations of these islands specially is South Andaman, where people are agitating since months.

With a post tsunami reconstruction boom in the lush green islands, quarry and crusher operators have nearly doubled their work and ripe out maximum benefit, often illegally.

Blasting, stone crushing, lorries ferrying stone products, skyline covered with dust, drying water reservoirs, withering trees and plants, depleting water table, choked streams and nalas, homes covered with dust, and sick children are some of the results of indiscriminate quarry operations in these three villages, which are spread across 3 sq km.

At present indiscriminate quarry operations are on at full swing in the South Andamans, where a 3 square kilometre (sq km) stretch houses as many as 41 quarries.

UNI