Water in abandoned quarries in Kerala fit for commercial use, finds bathymetric survey

The bathymetric survey of quarries including Chittikara rock quarry in Thiruvananthapuram district, Elavaramkuzhy rock quarry in Yeroor grama panchayat, Kayyila rock quarry in Veliyam grama panchayat, and Vendar rock quarry in Kulakkada grama panchayat in Kollam district, Pokkithath quarry in Meppayur grama panchayat in Kozhikode district, and Kavumpilla quarry in Vengad grama panchayat in Kannur district was conducted as part of the project.

As part of the survey, water samples from all these quarries were collected and tested for assessing the quality of the water, the report of which has been submitted to the State government. Except for the Vendar rock quarry, which is not fit for drinking, water from all other abandoned quarries are fit for commercial use, the report said.

Unmanned technology

The survey was conducted using unmanned autonomous technology developed by the Kerala Startup Mission at the Chittikara rock quarry, where the survey estimated that the quarry is more than 25 metres deep. The survey was completed using GPS and advanced echo-sounding technology at Elavaramkuzhy, Vendar, Kavumpilla, Pokkithath, and other quarries.

The survey is helpful in formulating projects to utilise large quantities of water in the quarries for various purposes, according to the report. It is estimated that there are thousands of abandoned quarries in Kerala, with Central Kerala, including Thrissur, and Palakkad and Kozhikode alone having close to 3,000 abandoned quarries. T.N. Seema, vice-chairperson of the Haritha Keralam Mission, and Jirosh Kumar V., director of hydrographic surveying, handed over the report to Port Minister V.N. Vasavan recently.