Quarry officials announce Rs 12 L for victims’ kin
CHENNAI/MADURAI: The management of the Kariapatti stone quarry in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district will pay a compensation of Rs 12 lakh each to the family members of three persons who were killed in an explosion in the storage room of the quarry on Wednesday.
The explosion resulted in thick clouds of smoke engulfing the quarry and the residents in the vicinity of the quarry also felt the tremors of the blast. According to the district officials, the management of the quarry has announced that it would hand over Rs 50,000 in cash to the families of each of the deceased, along with a cheque of Rs 11,50,000.
Villagers seek permanent closure of stone quarry
Meanwhile, several villagers from D Kadambankulam, where a deadly explosion took place in the private stone quarry, went to the Collectorate on Thursday. They urged the government to immediately shut down the quarry.
On behalf of the villagers, V Balamurugan submitted a petition to the District Administration stating the local community suffered some property damages due to the explosion and urged the authorities to inspect structural damages and provide adequate compensation.
“The quarry crusher plant at D Kadambankulam village has remained functional for almost ten years and despite a series of protests for permanent closure by the villagers on several occasions earlier, no action has been taken,” he said. Kariapatti Tahsildar Mareeswaran said a team comprising two Revenue Inspectors and VAOs was inspecting to find whether any damage was caused by the explosion and would submit a report soon.
While the Aviyoor police arrested R Sethu, the quarry owner, one more accused Rajkumar was arrested on Thursday.