The elected representatives who took part in the special meeting of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat on Monday to discuss the scarcity of sand in the district, expressed displeasure against the officials of Police and Mines and Geology departments for their alleged failure to prevent illegal extraction and transportation of sand.
Kumar Bangarappa, Sorab MLA, said there has been a delay in commencement of the functioning of authorised sand extraction points on river banks every year, after the conclusion of rainy season, citing technical reasons. So people are forced to purchase sand in the black market by paying exorbitant amounts. He said that though there was rich deposit of sand on the banks of rivers in Sorab taluk, the officials were not sanctioning permission to extract sand for works like construction of Ashraya houses and temples, citing technical reasons. However, the illegal extraction and transportation of sand was going unabated, he said.
K.E. Kanthesh, member of Zilla Panchayat, said that the recent incident of arrest of a police personnel while allegedly receiving bribe to allow movement of sand-laden truck has put the credibility of the department at stake. Though sand is being extracted on the bank of Tunga river in the vicinity of Shivamogga city, police have failed to take action against those involved in it. The silence maintained by the police over the issue has given raise to suspicion that they were hand in glove with those involved in the illegal trade, he said.