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Illegal sand trade rampant
Highlights
In spite of ban on sand mining and transportation in the district, large quantities of sand is being excavated and transported at night by to Vizag, Vizianagaram and some other places and is being sold at exorbitant prices.
Vizianagaram: In spite of ban on sand mining and transportation in the district, large quantities of sand is being excavated and transported at night by to Vizag, Vizianagaram and some other places and is being sold at exorbitant prices.
The State government banned the sand mining in the State and it is about to frame new policy to get more income to treasury.
As a result, all the 25 authorised sand reaches, which are under the management of self-help women groups, have been closed and now the sand mafia, which had been behind the scenes hitherto, came to the fore and looting the natural resource even as revenue, police, panchayat raj authorities fail to curb the activity.
The illegal sand traders are digging the sand from nearly 50 locations in the district including the riverbeds of Champavathi, Nagavali, Jhanjavathi, Gostani and Vegavathi rivers. Bobbili, Cheepurupalli, Gajapathi Nagaram, Nellimarla, Parvathipuram are the major sand reaches which have become dens for illegal trading.
Officials of the department concerned keep quiet allegedly due to pressure from political leaders like mandal presidents, ZPTC members and sarpanches. Though the vehicles transporting sand are seized by police and revenue officers, they are forced to release them after being told to do so from political circles.
The illegal traders excavate the sand at night and dump it in secret places like groves before supplying it to consumers.
An apartment builder in Vizianagaram town said, “It has become difficult to get sand as the government has banned the trading.
So we are procuring sand from illegal traders at high prices to complete our projects.
We have to meet our schedules with consumers demanding handover of flats by Sankranti. Hence we are forced shell out Rs.3,500-Rs 4,000 per a tractor load of sand.”
District Rural Development Agency project director K Dilli Rao said, “We will not allow any illegal sand ramps in the district.
We are keeping an eye on such transporters and will take action against the persons responsible.”
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