Vadakkancherry: The hills at Panniyankara near Mannuthy - Vadakkancherry six lane highway are getting vanished as sand and stone mining has become rampant here. Sand and stones are mined in huge amount from near the Panniyankara toll apparently for highway construction. Following complaints from the local residents, Vadakkancherry-1 Village Officer TS Sreekala visited the spot for inspection. She issued a stop memo to the land owners after illegal rock mining was found here. Meanwhile, the village officer said that she had submitted reports to the tehsildar and the geology department.

The hills at Thenidukku, Panniyankara and Chuvattupadam areas are being hollowed out claiming that the sand and stones are required for the construction of the under passes at Vaniyambara, Pattikad and Mudikod. The local residents have been urging to check whether the geological department has approved the mining.

Meanwhile, the public, led by the Janakeeya Samiti had stalled the mining at Pothapara. Although the owner of the land had filed a police complaint, he couldn’t produce the documents asked by the police. Rock mining has since been stopped here.

Rock mining had become rampant in the area when the Vadakkancherry – Mannuthy national highway was under construction. However, there are allegations that instead of using these sand and stones for highway construction, they were sold in the neighbouring districts.