If the ore scam that has rocked the state is attracting nation wide attention, the next in the
line is the sand mining which too has kicked off a controversy. The rampant sand mining
on the banks of Tungabhadra and Cauvery is much in the news now and according to
a recent report on the issue aired by CNN-IBN Channel, sand business amounting to a
staggering Rs one crore was being undertaken here every day.
Though at the outset, the government seems to have taken action against illegal sand
mining and sand smuggling, the fact that most of the forces involved behind this business
were ruling party men, has foiled all efforts to curb the menace. Moreover, even the so
called measures taken by the police to check this mining and smuggling have proved to
be mere efforts to throw dust at people’s eyes.
Today, sand mining is controlled by the mafia and politicians and in the days to come it
is all likely to pose a greater problem to both the government and the people.
Take for instance the coastal districts itself. Both in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara
Kannada districts, particularly in Mangalore and Karwar, it is an open secret that the
local ministers themselves were patronising sand mining. The restrictions imposed on
the sand transportation towards Goa following the revelation of the hands of a minister in
transporting thousands of tonnes of sand from Karwar’s Kali river banks, is now nowhere
with this inter-state transportation going on effortlessly. The situation is same even in
Mangalore. There is just no restraint to the smuggling of sand from here to Kerala. A
senior police officer who had enjoyed much publicity after seizing huge quantity of
sand a few months ago, is now silent on the issue after he came to know that the sand
belonged to a politician of the ruling party. Recently, when it came to light that the
thousands of tonnes of sand seized by the revenue officials belonged to a minister, all out
efforts had been made to prove that it was not illegal.
Thanks to the good price for sand owing to the booming construction industry, several
bigwigs have entered this sand mining and transportation business. A lorry load of sand
is priced at Rs 25000 in Bangalore and the transporter earns Rs 10,000 profit per load,
making it a big business in itself.
The so called restrictions on sand mining are merely a show off as the control system
here is meant to be an opportunity to loot to only a few. Restrictions on sand mining,
instead of solving the problem has made it further complex. Today people who are in
actual need of sand do not get it. There are several who have made good money by
stocking sand and creating artificial scarcity. The sand mining may be freed from the
clutches of the sand mafia if the government removes the restrictions on the same.
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