Granite quarry ponds are formed when craters get filled by rainwater. Even good swimmers have drowned in abandoned quarries filled with water. The main reasons are:
Loss of orientation
Once you fall in the water and go under the surface, it is pitch dark unlike in other waterbodies like rivers and lakes. Sunlight penetration is zero as the large granite walls form an opaque light-stopper. Hence, a swimmer loses orientation and sense of direction. Many swim down instead to the surface as there is no point of reference (light). This is similar to the white-out phenomenon experienced by helicopter pilots in the Polar regions. They too lose orientation as the sky and the earth look white.
Fatal slip
Granite quarry ponds are formed when craters get filled by rainwater. The craters are formed when large chunks of rocks are ripped apart using explosives. The edges of the quarries are hence rugged and there is no continental shelf-like entry to the waterbody. The edges remain slippery and there is no foothold in the event of a fall. One could be standing on a thin edge near a hundred-foot deep, dark pit.
Head injuries
Instances of head injury are high in quarry accidents as the victims get little response time and fall unconscious in the event of the head hitting a hard rock surface
Not a swimming pool
There is a definite lack of awareness regarding the dangers posed by abandoned quarries. Many think it is one scenic spot for a quick swim and venture out into the waters with little or no precaution.
A granite quarry pond at Keezhpayyur in Kozhikode.The Kerala government had plans to clean up quarries and use the water for drinking watter supply during summers.
As per estimates, the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram alone had quarries to mitigate the drinking water problems faced by many rural areas. As it stands, there has been little progress and the quarry fringes remain waste dumps and the water bodies remain death traps.
A quarry pond on MG University campus in Kottayam.Read more: Latest Kerala news | Elephant rescued from swamp still has its legs in the bog
