A fleet of sand-laden trucks along with a huge stockpile of illegally extracted sand stored at the truck terminal in Mysuru were seized by the district administration officials here on Friday.
Senior geologist of Department of Mines and Geology, Lingaraju told The Hindu that a total of 22 sand-laden trucks parked at the truck terminal were seized during a raid carried out by a team of district administration officials following a tip off.
The team also chanced upon a huge stockpile of illegally extracted sand stored at the terminal premises.
"We are still assessing the quantity of sand. But, the entire quantity is illegally extracted and transported. Extraction of sand from the river is banned. There is no permit that has been given either", Mr. Lingaraju said.
So, cases will be booked under illegal extraction as well as illegal transport of sand, he said.
Officials said the stockpile of sand stored at the terminal comprised both river sand as well as sandy soil collected from the banks. Officials suspected that the sand suppliers were mixing sandy soil with river sand, which was also illegal.
"Such adulteration of sand seriously compromises the safety of the structures", an official from the PWD, who was part of the raiding team, said.
