Indian Explorer of Social Sciences & Humanities
Year : 2017, Volume : 11, Issue : 2
First page : ( 1) Last page : ( 10)
Print ISSN : 2320-2963.

Developmental strategies to laterite mining areas - A geographical approach

Prasad T. K.¹, Parthasarathy G.R.²

¹Asst. Professor, Department of Geography, Government College Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram

²Professor & Head (Rtd), Department of Geography, Madhurai, Kamaraj University

Online published on 3 July, 2021.

Abstract

Laterite is a typical rock formation found commonly in the tropical monsoon regions as a capping over the hillocks. It is best developed in the Western Ghats and its foothills. Laterite has the peculiar property of being soft when newly quarried, but being hard and compact on exposure to the air, Also, loose fragments and pebbles of rock tend to re-cement themselves into solid masses as compact as the original rock. On account of this property it is usually cut in the form of bricks for building purposes. In earlier days people failed to recognize the economic potentials of laterite. They cut up laterite bricks for their immediate domestic purposes only. Later the field was mechanized and intensive mining of bricks and its transportation and marketing brought tremendous changes in the physical as well as socio-economic set up of the region. lrikkur block panchayath in Kannur district is now well known for its good quality laterite bricks. Here the ruthless mining of lateritic hills brought drastic changes in the local environment of midland hillocks and socio-cultural profile of the region. Present study perceives the problem from a geographical standpoint and attempts to suggest planning measures for the sustainable development of the mining regions.

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Keywords

Laterite, Mining, Midland hillocks, Sustainable development.

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