Kottayam: Public uprising against the functioning of a granite quarry in the picturesque village Kurinji near Pala took a new turn on Tuesday as 25 residents including the vicar of the village church surrendered before the court in connection with holding a protest outside the Village Office.
All were remanded in judicial custody till November 15 and were shifted to Pala Sub Jail.
Hartal will be observed in Ramapuram Panchayath on Wednesday.
The issue began after the local residents objected to the functioning of a quarry on top of Kottamala hill in the region.
They had complained to the District Collector and the RDO that the functioning of the quarry was a threat to their life and property.
“The owners continued to operate the quarry saying that they had permission from the Court,” said Jenus Nath, ward member.
He also said that despite the complaints given to the Collector and the RDO, the operations of the quarry was not stopped.
Following this the local residents including the Vicar Fr Thomas Ayilukunnel went to the Ramapuram Village office the other day and staged a protest outside the office.
The RDO happened to be present at the office then. Police registered a case against the protesters for preventing the RDO from discharging his duty and also under Juvenile Act for bringing children for the strike.
The Grama Sabha had passed a resolution the other day demanding a vigilance inquiry on granting permission for the quarry, The Times of India reported.
Fr Thomas said that the District Collector has the report which says that the region is prone to natural disasters. “We learnt that the Police were under pressure from the officials to arrest at least four persons.
Instead of four we all decided to surrender before court,” he said. Meanwhile, Ramapuram police said that the remand was not related to the quarry incident and was purely based on the Juvenile Act and preventing the RDO from discharging his duty.