Villagers of Alappad demand complete halt to mining activities

A coastal village Alappad has been at the centre of action in Kerala for the last few weeks. For now, the state government has agreed to stop for sea-washing for a month till the proposed expert committee submitted its impact study report. It is a method of mineral sand-mining. Alappad, a narrow land strip, is between Arabian Sea and the TS Canal in Kollam. It had faced the brunt of cyclonic storm Ockhi last year and the Tsunami in 2004. Seeking to save their remaining villages, the people of Alappad and nearby hamlets under the banner of the protest council have been on a relay hunger strike at Vellanathuruthu near Alappad for the last 78 days demanding a complete halt to the mining activities. Agitators have claimed that hamlet after hamlet were "disappearing" from the map due to mining activities by the IRE, a central public sector undertaking, and state government-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML).