CPM man accuses party leaders of illegal mining

PATHANAMTHITTA: Protesting against CPM local leaders' alleged involvement in the illegal operation of quarries in the Chittar panchayat here, a CPM panchayat member, Nithin Kishore expressed his willingness to quit the party.
In a Facebook post, Nithin further stated that he was forced to come out in the open after threat calls. He had lodged a police complaint against illegal quarry mining two days ago.
He even posted photos of the receipt of the complaint and that of the mining activities on the land of a CPM block panchayat member on social media.
He added that no action was taken on his complaint and the party members have isolated him and forced him to withdraw the petition.
Nithin's post had gone viral along with a WhatsApp video. Hundreds have come out supporting him.
Harish Vasudevan, noted environmentalist, said in a Facebook comment supporting Nithin that any form of mining was prohibited in the panchayat through an order dated Novermber 13, 2013.
However, Nithin could not be reached when TOI tried to contact him as his phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, the district secretary of CPM, K P Udayabhanu said he was not aware of the incident and could make any comment only after consulting with the party district committee. He added that permission has been granted for quarry mining in the panchayat recently.