A video conference held by Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao with district Collectors on Saturday to discuss the new sand mining policy of Telangana government saw Mahbubnagar Collector G.D. Priyadarshini expressing helplessness at “high drama” that frequently took place on the Kurnool-- Mahabubnagar highway as sand excavated from Tungabhadra riverbed on the inter-State border was smuggled into Hyderabad.
A lot of sand made its way from Mahabubnagar to Hyderabad by illegal means. The sand-laden lorries were chased on the highway. Illegal mining by sand contractors from Alampur went unchecked, Ms. Priyadarshini complained.
She also said she got frequent phone calls from sand dealers at Shamshabad and Mehdipatnam here who complained how their business was affected due to illegal quarrying in the river near the border.
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She informed the Minister about lack of drive against such activity due to the vacancy in the post of Assistant Director of Mines and Geology who is the departmental head in the district.