VELLORE: Hundreds of people in a village in the district have come out to protest indiscriminate stone quarrying from a hill they consider sacred.Residents of Appukkal village near Anaicut have been holding protests for the past two weeks to save the 250-feet-tall Panayarasippai Hill. Going by the legend, the hill was formed after a local woman who was supposedly tortured by her mother-in-law, cursed that sweets made by her be turned into stones. Some villagers attribute this for round shaped stones found on the hill. Shanmugam, an advocate at the Madras High Court and a native of the village, who deals with legal issues related to the hill, said the government had permitted quarrying on six acres of land on the hill. It had given the contract to three private parties. However, these persons have encroached upon the land and destroyed around 52 acres of the total 120 acres, he alleged.“This had led to a reduction in the water table, which in turn had drastically affected agriculture,” he said. In a bid to stop further quarrying and prevent lorries from plying to the hill, villagers had dug a pit running along the base of the hillock. Besides holding protests, they had petitioned Vellore Collector Ajay Yadav, who promised action. A team of officials led by Ambur DSP Vijayakumar visited the location and conducted and investigation. According to sources, the probe revealed that contractors had quarried more than the allocated land. The team also found that some quarry owners had sub-leased the work to others, they added.“The hill is also historically important,” said Seenan, an ex-serviceman and a native of the village. “Workers breaking stones had discovered eight golden swords seven years ago. The archaeology department had collected the swords, which are now kept at the Vellore Fort museum. A 15-feet-deep pond was also recently found on the hill. Also, a temple stands at the summit of the hill. Every year a festival is held at the Annachiamman temple,” he added.When Appukkal Panchayat President Poochiammal was contacted, she said the hill is spread over 120 acres with 52 acres of it forming part of Appukkal village. However, over 50 acres of this portion has been quarried and about 20 lorry-loads of stones are transported from here on a day.Appukkal village is home to approximately 900 families, whose primary occupation is agriculture. There is about 400-500 acres of agricultural land in the village. But with the fall in the water table, farmers have begun to leave for nearby towns to find work. A villager lamented that it was now difficult to find water even if a 650-feet-deep bore well is dug.
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