Chennai, May 19 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday said that it will decide on opening the river sand quarrying after the ongoing Lok Sabha election comes to an end.

A senior official of the Water Resources Department told IANS that the river sand quarries may be opened after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is lifted and once the decision is taken, quarrying is likely to commence by June end.

The government has been attempting to reopen the river sand quarries which have been shut down for the last nine months following protests from farmers after water shortage in delta districts (Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Myladuthurai) considered the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.

Environmentalists have been protesting against the extraction of river sand and have voiced concerns over the drying of groundwater in the delta districts.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has also directed the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department not to use machines for the extraction of sand from river beds.