While civil engineering contractors are claiming that construction activities have been hit due to the non-availability of sand because of the inter-district movement of sand, the Mines and Geologies Department asserts that enough sand is available.
At a press conference here on Wednesday, president of the Mangaluru unit of the Civil Contractors Association M. Purushottam Kottary said the district administration’s decision to allow movement of sand to other regions in the State had affected local construction works. “Our daily requirement is around 2,000 tonnes. We are not at all getting this for the last few weeks,” Mr. Kottary said.
Ashok Kulal, secretary of the association, said sand contractors were giving priority to orders coming from other regions while ignoring local requirements. “We have to wait for a week to 10 days to get one truckload of sand,” Mr. Kulal said. He said sand prices had increased drastically with each load now costing Rs. 2,500 against Rs. 650 four months ago. The helpline set up by sand transporters had not been of much help, he added.
Association’s vice-president Dinakar Suvarna said around 300 lorries, each carrying around 25 tonnes of sand, were moving to Bengaluru and other parts of the State every day. Such large extent of sand extraction would harm the river ecosystem. He asked the district administration to take steps to prevent over-extraction of sand.
No shortage
Denying these arguments, Deputy Director of Mines and Geology N. Ramappa said, “I am getting calls saying there are not many to lift the extracted sand.” He said medium and coarse sand was available at Rs. 3,000 per truckload while fine sand was available at Rs. 3,500. This rate was for transportation to areas within 15 km from the lifting point and would increase if the distance is more, he said.
Mr. Ramappa said that bulk permits were being issued online for sand transportation, which were valid for 24 hours. There had been no reduction in the movement of sand, with 500 lorries moving every day, he said. Sand extraction in Gurupura, Adyar and other regions coming in Costal Regulatory Zone limits would stop for nearly two months from June 15, he added.
