Wednesday, Jul 17, 2002
Wednesday, Jul 17, 2002 |
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Karnataka
By M.Raghuram
Sand being removed from riverbed in Dakshina Kannada.
This development may render over 10,000 people including labourers, entrepreneurs, transport operators, and semi-skilled workers, unemployed. In the process, the people in the construction industry will also face an uncertain future following unavailability of quality sand for construction purposes. Dakshina Kannada, which is located on volcanic rock topped with patches of laterite, has no other source of sand than the riverbeds. Gurupur and Netravati rivers meet most of the demand for sand for construction activities in Mangalore. The Karnataka State Sand Miners', Owners', and Workers' Association at Kunjathbail near here claims that sand mining does not alter the riverbeds. The mechanised sand mining machinery fitted to small boats takes only the right quantity of sand from the riverbeds. Moreover, sand mining keeps the river draft at a healthy level for more water to flow. A study by the association states that flooding has been minimised and erosion of riverbanks has been arrested to a great extent in various pockets due to sand mining and storage of additional water. The President of the association, Navinchandra B., told The Hindu that the sand mining industry had been supplying filtered sand for construction activities and the builders were happy with the quality. At least 1,200 lorries and 7,000 labourers were dedicated to the business of extracting sand and transporting it in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, he said. On the other hand, the manual sand mining segment has another version to the story. Nearly 400 boats and 600 persons are engaged in manual extraction of sand from the riverbeds. Manual extraction can be done only during the non-monsoon period. Due to various constraints, the output from manual extraction has been limited to only a few loads a week. The Manual Sand Extraction Union has claimed that its operations have been hampered by mechanical sand mining as the machines are faster and do not leave small quantities of sand for the manual operators to survive on. They have also raised objections to the district administration allowing the mechanised segment to mine upstream. They have recommended that exclusive zones be created for manual sand mining. Mechanised mining should not be allowed in those zones, they say. The district administration is in a fix because the Mineral Extraction Act does not provide for such zoning. Mr. Navinchandra said that due to such difficulties they had shifted their machines to districts such as Dharwad, Haveri, and Davangere. Stating that people were happy there, he said the rivers were now holding more water than they used to before sand mining began there. The day was not far off when sand would be monopolised by the unorganised manual sector, he said, and added that each builder might have to pay dearly for a load of sand. Matters might get aggravated in Mangalore where construction activities were on the rise, and the most important ingredient for construction, sand, was in short supply. The Canara Builders' Association and the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers' Mangalore Local Centre feel that this eventuality will give a deathblow to the construction industry in Mangalore.
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