Thiruvananthapuram: Existing guidelines require quarry owners to fill up or fence abandoned quarries or else the money needed for the purpose has to be deposited with the district administration. However, only a handful of them have been fenced. Mishaps including drowning have become rampant. “There is no barrier that can prevent access by a determined person. So, the focus should be to at least to put up a signboard that explains the danger of venturing into a particular quarry,” said Ragesh Chemmad, a safety advocate.
There are over a hundred quarry ponds in the capital, especially at areas like Vellarada, Pothencode, Venganoor and Attingal. Last week, three teenagers drowned in a quarry pond near Pallickal. The quarries are often the most favoured destination for fishing and swimming. The people in the locality use the water to bathe also.
“Lots of people from Malayankeezhu, Pappanamcode areas come for fishing at abandoned quarries enroute to Mookunnimala,” said S. Solomon, a resident of Mookunnimala. “The green quarry ponds can be deceiving because some of them are as deep as 50-80 feet. They are so slippery that even an experienced swimmer could suffer a blow to the head or limbs that would make them immobile,” said a Fire and Rescue personnel Subhash Kumar.
