Forest dept. told to permit sand removal from Pampa

KCCPL directed to resume work from today

Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Additional Chief Secretary Biswas Mehta inspected Pampa and Nilackal on Friday to review the progress of sand removal work in the Pampa river in the foothills of Sabarimala.

The decision to remove the huge deposits of sand accumulated in the Pampa river was taken by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by District Collector recently to avert chances of more devastating floods in the downstream of Sabarimala.

The Kerala Clays and Ceramic Products Ltd. (KCCPL) in Kannur was roped in to remove the sand and the work began on May 20. The work was disrupted following certain apprehensions raised by the Forest Department and the high-level team’s visit to Pampa on Friday was to clear the hurdles on the path of sand removal.

The Chief Secretary has directed the Forest Department to give necessary clearance for sand removal and the KCCPL to resume the work from Saturday itself.

State Police Chief Loknath Behera also joined Mr. Jose and Mr. Mehta in the official talks held at the Devaswom Guest House at Nilackal on Friday. P.B. Noohu, District Collector; Vinay Goyal, Thiruvalla Subcollector; Unnikrishnan, Divisional Forest Officer; and K.G.Simon, District Police Chief; were present.