The Meenavar Viduthalai Iyakkam and Tamizhar Kazahagam outfits, based in Tuticorin district, have submitted a petition to the Kanyakumari Collector seeking a ban on beach sand mining in the district. The two organisations, in their petition, said that due to continuous mining of sea sand, the livelihoods of the fishermen have been affected. A similar ban, like the one imposed in Tuticorin district should be enforced against sea sand mining quarries functioning in the district too. They also said that the firms engaged in mining mineral sand in Tuticorin district were also engaged in illegal mining in the district. For more than 25 years, the sand mining companies were functioning without obtaining environmental clearance from both the State and the Central governments. These companies were polluting the sea by discharging the effluents in to the sea after processing the mineral sand. The petition urged the district administration to inspect the quarries and issue ban orders.