Officials from the Mines and Geology Department on Tuesday conducted raids at two places on the banks of the Netravathi and the Phalguni (Gurupura) rivers, in a crackdown on illegal sand extraction and seized sand extraction equipment as well as sand.
The raids were conducted in collaboration with Revenue and Police departments at Adyarkatte off Mangaluru on the banks of the Netravathi in the early hours. Two earthmovers, two trucks loaded with sand, about 700 tonnes of illegally extracted sand and other equipment were seized during the process, said a release here. The sand was transported to the district administration’s stockyard. In another raid during the same time, a team seized a dredging machine and 50 tonnes of sand near the Railway Bridge off Malavoor vented dam on the Phalguni.
The dredging machine was handed over to the Kavoor Police. Steps were being taken to book cases against those involved in illegal extraction before the jurisdictional courts.
No sooner, Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader held a press conference on Tuesday alleging that BJP legislators had become mute spectators to illegal sand extraction in the district. Despite licence lapsing, permit holders in the coastal regulation zone were extracted sand illegally, Mr. Khader said. He also urged the district administration to revive the Sand Bazaar App/ Portal for transparent and efficient delivery of sand to people.
Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh, who is also the chairperson of the District Sand Monitoring Committee, chaired a meeting on Wednesday and directed officials concerned to act tough against illegal sand extraction.
Several teams comprising officials from different departments were formed to curtail illegal extraction. The teams were conferred with powers to take action against illegal sand extraction under the Karnataka Minor Minerals Concession Rules, 1994 as amended in 2016, the release said.
