Bullock cart owners, led by CITU members, staging a protest demanding permission to quarry sand from the Kollidam, in Tiruchi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
A group of bullock cart operators from Tiruchi, owing allegiance to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), staged a protest in front of the District Collectorate urging the authorities to reopen sand quarries on the Kollidam river bed n the district on Monday.
Protesters drawn from Kambarasampettai, Nochiam, Lalgudi, Srirangam, and Sarkarpalayam requested that quarries at Madhav Perumal Temple and Thalakudi, which were meant exclusively for bullock carts, in Tiruchi be reopened. They said that bullock cart operators had lost their livelihood because of the closure of quarries.
The sand that is taken from the quarries in bullock carts tend to be smaller in quantities as opposed to that carried by trucks. This sand can be used in small-scale construction sites, said protesters.
“These sand quarries have been shut for 18 months and the livelihood of the bullock cart owners are being severely affected. We request that the sand quarries be opened again,” said S. Rengarajan, District Secretary, CITU.
Published – February 03, 2025 07:08 pm IST