MANGALORE: Even as the District Administration is making every possible effort to
put a break to sand smuggling, the illegal activity is underway unabatedly in the border
areas.
Reports say the sand is being smuggled in lorries via places in Konaje and Vittal police
station limits, by avoiding check posts. On Wednesday, it were the villagers of Mudipu
who intercepted four sand smuggling lorries and handed them over to the police. The
villagers of Mudipu agitated over the unabated sand smuggling also entered into a heated
duel with the lorry drivers. Finally the Konaje cops who arrived at the spot seized the
lorries after finding that there were no records to prove that the sand was authorisedly
transported.
It has been learnt that the sand lorries which enter Kerala via Bakrabail, Poyyattabail,
Sullia and Mudipu, stock the sand in the Varkady gram panchayat limits of Manjeshwar
block and already the roads through which these sand lorries operate, are facing the brunt
and their conditions have worsened.
Though the Action Force has been constituted under the leadership of Deputy
Commissioner V Ponnuraj and is having district level officials including the deputy
director of the Department of Mines and Geology, the sand smuggling is going on
unabatedly proving a head ache to the authorities.
The authorities, no doubt are maintaining strict vigil at the check posts at Talapady,
Ukkuda, Saradka and Jalsur; but they have not been able to put a check on the sand
smuggling completely. Sources reveal that the sand is being smuggled towards Kannur,
Kallikote and Malappuram districts of Kerala in Kerala registration lorries.
As of now, it is learnt only 10 per cent of the over 500 ore transportation lorries in the
district have installed GPS which has been made mandatory by Deputy Commissioner V
Ponnuraj. The failure of the sand lorries to strictly adhere to the instructions is learnt to
have come in the way of the district administration to curb this menace completely.
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