Illegal sand mining goes on unabated in Pebbair

Mahbubnagar: Rampant illegal sand mining is going on unabated in Janampet village of Pebbair mandal in Mahbubnagar district.
According to sources, people close to leaders in the government are carrying out illegal sand mining in the Krishna River at Janampeta village in Pebbair.

Though the revenue officials had not given any permission for the mining, some strangers have been allegedly digging sand using heavy machines like JCBs and tippers. This sand is then being dumped into a heap on the river bank and sold to the people.

Locals allege that officials are turning a blind eye to this activity fearing the wrath of the ruling party leaders. According to the rules, for mining of sand, approval has to be first sought from the local Tahasildar at the MRO office.

Permission will then be accorded based on the local requirements. However in Pebbair, apparently, no kinds of permissions have been given or taken. “So far we have not given any permission for mining sand for whatsoever reasons.

We have come to know about the illegal mining recently, we are investigating the matter and will take action accordingly,” said Dattadri, Tahasildar of Pebbair.

The huge quantity of illegally mined sand is being used for construction works at the Pushkar Ghats and other works related to Krishna Pushkaralu, say the locals. “Whatever be the purpose, the mining should be done according to the rules. If the government needs sand, the same should be done as per rules,” opined a farmer in Pebbair.

The illegal sand miners have reportedly stocked huge mounds of sand at Munugamandinne village near the Krishna River bank. It is believed that the illegal miners have come to an understanding with the owners of the tractors in the nearby villages

surrounding the Krishna River according to which, each tractor is being paid Rs 500 for digging sand and transporting it to the stocking site. There are about 50 tractors which are making about 20 trips each day to the stocking point.

This means every day about 1,000 tractors of sand is being illegally ferried and sold to the construction sites, in the guise of government works.Ironically, the State government and the district administration had earlier claimed to have cracked down on illegal sand mining. I

llegal extraction of sand from Dundubhi River is another classic example of the sand mafia’s functioning. The river enters the district from Ranga Reddy and traverses through Balanagar, Jadcherla, Midgil, Timmajipeta and Uppunutala mandals to reach Dindi irrigation project. Interestingly, sand mining was banned in the lake long ago in 1991 by the government.

By:A Raju