NAGERCOIL: With investigators finding that the pipe bomb planted to allegedly kill BJP leader L K Advani contained ‘Power Gel 90’, an explosive substance used in stone quarries, the focus has again shifted to illegal stocking of explosives in numerous quarries in and around Kanyakumari district.It is alleged that more than 150 stone quarries, most of them operating illegally, are stocking up explosives blatantly violating State Government regulations. Much of the stock of ‘Power Gel 90’ is illegally sourced from neighbouring Kerala. As per regulations, quarry operators must drill a bore of only up to 2.5 feet depth in rocks and fill explosive substances in it for blasting purposes. Licensed shops dealing in explosives, including Power Gel 90, have been mandated not to sell above this quantity to quarry owners. However, in reality, quarry owners are sourcing the explosives illegally to blast rocks with greater intensity. “Most quarry operators in Kanyakumari drill 12 to 15 feet deep bores on rocks and fill it up with explosives for quarrying with greater intensity,” R S Lal Mohan, an environmentalist, said. According to him, over 50 illegal stone quarries were operational in Kanyakumari district by sourcing the explosives from black market. However, the Geology and Mines Department here had, while responding to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act recently, said that only 46 licensed quarries are functioning in the district. The Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks are located closer to Kerala. These two taluks have 20 and 18 licensed quarries respectively. Activists allege that many stone quarry operators, who were earlier based in Kerala, had clandestinely shifted operations to these taluks after the neighbouring State Government banned quarrying in the Western Ghats under its territory.
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