Alappuzha: An all-party meeting presided over by Agriculture Minister P Prasad will be held on November 16 to find a solution to the row over the mining of soil from a hill at Mattappally village near Nooranad in Alappuzha.

The move comes even as residents, intensified their protest to prevent the sand mining while expressing concern over the numerous impacts it could pose to the environment.

“The minister has directed the district collector to convene the all-party meeting at 2 pm on November 16 at the Mavelikkara Taluk office. On the day he will also visit the hill and surrounding area where the soil mining is taking place,” an official said.

The Mattapally village witnessed tense moments on Friday when hundreds of residents clashed with the police following a protest against a bid to mine soil from the hill. The protestors way-laid the trucks that had come to transport the soil. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse the crowd and arrested over 100 people.

“We’ve released all the arrested on bail. Over 200 cases have been registered for rioting. The protests are still ongoing. We’ve taken all measures to prevent the situation from going out of control,” said a senior police officer.

Meanwhile, the police charged the protestors using force and not even sparing women. “The situation got tense the other day after the cops used brutal force to remove the residents who were protesting peacefully. They acted like goons. We demand action against Nooranad and Chengannur CI officers who brutally beat up the protestors,” said All India Youth Federation (AIYF) State Secretary T T Jismon.

The state government and a High Court single Bench have already consented to the mining operations on the Mattappally hill,  spread over an area of 20 acres within the limits of the Palamel Panchayat, for enabling the construction work of the National Highway. 

The residents, however, have moved a petition against the single-bench order and an order is awaited. The locals argue that the mining of soil from Mattappally Hill will have a profound impact on the local environment, leading to a severe drought situation.