Kurnool: With the excavation of sand in Tungabhadra going unabated, the villages situated on the banks of the river are facing drinking water shortage. A villager, who does not want to disclose his name, said that they are getting water once in a week. Stating the reasons behind the supply of water once in a week by panchayat, he said the borewells dug in the river are taking 2 to 3 days to be filled.

After the borewell is totally filled then the panchayat officials will supply water. He urged the officials concerned to stop the illegal sand mining at least in the summer season. When The Hans India enquired about the illegal sand mining with Circle inspector Chalapathi Rao of Taluka police station, he said, "We are regularly conducting raids. During every raid, we are catching the tractors and are detaining at the police station.

After filing cases, we are submitting it in the court. So far, we have caught more than 100 tractors and all cases pertaining to the seizure are pending in the court." Rumours agog that the Police department despite knowing about the illegal transportation of sand is turning blind eye on it. One can know how many tractors are plying every day with CCTV cameras installed at 'Y' junction in Munagalapadu.