Sand in Dakshina Kannada district just a click away

MANGALURU: Now, buying a truckload of sand is as easy as ordering anything else online in Dakshina Kannada district. To ensure that people and government agencies get sand without any hassle, the district administration has launched an online portal dksandbazaar.com.

The initiative has received good response as within a few days of its launch, there have been over 50 bookings. The brainchild of Deputy Commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil, the new system has come as a big relief to people of the district. All these days, the sand lobby that created an artificial scarcity was forcing buyers to pay exorbitant prices for sand.

Senthil said the new system has the potential of stopping all illegalities in sand and making it available at regulated rates. The website has complete details of sand available with each of the permit holder, the price, and also calculates the cost of transportation which makes the transaction transparent. Once a customer places an order for sand, the nearest permit holder and truck owner will get a message on his cell phone, who will then ensure that the order is delivered.

Sources in the Mines and Geology Department said the sand permit holders can also sell the sand to others who have not booked it through the website. However, they have to keep an account of it and share information about the sand available with them with the department. 

A few months ago, the sand issue had reached an alarming level in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts with the common people finding it tough to get sand. One of the major reasons for the crisis was the illegal transportation of sand to Kerala, Bengaluru and other places, which fetched the traders a high price.