Sporadic raids fail to curb illegal sand mining

Srikakulam: The objective of Chief Minister N ChandraBabu Naidu’s ‘free sand’ policy is being defeated as it is costly for customers. Sand is being excavated illegally at different villages in Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers across the district and the same was shifted from the rivers by tractors and dumped illegally at open places.

Later, it was transported to different destinations. At the time of excavating and shifting of the sand from the main rivers’, followers of the concerned MLAs, village level elders collected about Rs500per tractor of sand.

In addition, revenue, police, mines and geology officials and staff of various cadres are allegedly receiving bribes while staff at inter-districts and inter-states check-posts also turned blind eye on illegal shifting of sand from the district by receiving their share.

Finally, brokers who are allegedly acting as mediators in between lorry owners and local leaders and elders in shifting the sand from here to Visakhapatnam and adjacent Odisha state are collecting Rs1,000to Rs1,500 amount for each lorry of sand.

These brokers are also acting as informers to lorry owners to avoid trouble from locals and officials. The touts are deployed area-wise from sand dumping points to its destinations. Owing to all these reasons, the cost of the sand has reached to Rs 50,000to Rs.60,000 per lorry at different areas in and around Visakhapatnam city.

Sand is being excavated and shifted illegally in Etcherla, Srikakulam, Amadalavalasa, Pathapatnam and NarasannapetaAssembly constituencies.

In the wake of strong opposition and massive criticism on illegal sand mining, officials conducted rare raids and seized a few number of vehicles as an eyewash which failed to prevent the practice.