SP Venkateshwarlu to form task force to contain sand smuggling in Narayanpet

Narayanpet: Superintendent of Police N Venkateshwarlu has said that a special task force will be set up to completely pluck out the roots of sand mafia in Narayanpet district.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, the SP said that the Police department is taking stern action to contain the illegal mining and smuggling of sand from the district.

While reacting to the complaint filed by Diddi Praveen Kumar, a social activists and president of Nenu Saitam Social Organization, Venkateshwarlu said that already the police have taken some steps to stop the illegal sand transportation in the district, however, to put a comprehensive full stop to the menace of sand mafia, a task force will be constituted.

Speaking to media, Diddi Praveen Kumar said that he had lodged a complaint with the Narayanpet SP and district Collector Harichandana and both responded positively and promised that they would take stern measures to root out the sand mafia from Narayanpet.

"Today we met with Narayanpet SP and apprised him of the rampant illegal sand mining in various reaches along the Krishna River bank in Makthal. Hundreds of lorries, trucks and tractors line up at sand reaches in Paddavagu, Mannevagu, Bijaramvagu, Lingalcheduvagu and other streams in the mandals of Rakonda, Marikal, Maktal, Neradgam, Varkur, Chittanur, Maganur, Maddur, Lingalched, Gotur, Poosalpad, Utkur etc in Narayanpet district and illegally mining sand causing loss of crores of rupees to the government exchequer and at the same time causing unrecoverable damage to the environment and leading to steep depreciation of ground water levels in these regions," Diddi Praveen Kumar.

"It is learnt that the sand mafia is giving Rs 6 lakh per police station to turn a blind eye on the moving trucks and sand lorries. With this one can easily gauge the gravity and severity of the situation. We are hopeful that the district police and Revenue authorities will defiantly take meaningful measures to contain the illegal sand mining. Or else, we will be compelled to move the High Court on the issue and will fight until the illegal sand mining is stopped in the district," said the social worker.

He demanded the police and revenue officials to impose Preventive Detention (PD) Act and book cases against the violators under WALTA Act and take strict action against those who do not stop the illegal mining.

Praveen Kumar also reminded about the recent seizure of a truck by the vigilance authorities on February 10 this month, where in the truck was caught red handed with 42 tones of overloaded sand under Devarkadra police station limits.

"We are also demanding the district higher officials to immediately take action against all those officials and police officers who are hand in glove with the sand mafia. They are all habituated to taking bribes and kickbacks. Unless and until they are shunted nothing will change. So we are demanding the government to take action against all those who are supporting the sand mafia and save the precious resources of the people and save crores of rupees loss to the government exchequer," observed the social worker.

It is learnt that the SP had assured that within 15 days not a single lorry would move from Ukachettu and Rakonda areas and would curb the sand mafia menace in the region with Iron hand.