Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Sep 1: After days of protests, demands and heated battles, the district administration here has finally given the green signal for sand extraction from Friday September 1.

District in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj addressing the media said, "After major efforts toward lifting the ban on sand mining enforced by the district administration under CRZ rules, the administration has given permission for sand mining from today.

"My endeavour is to ensure adequate sand is available for development of the district. It should be available at an affordable price. As per law, the environment under CRZ must be protected. A few block owners were given permission a few days back. Ironcially, BJP is becoming an obstacle to sand mining. The opposition is playing extremely bad politics," he said.

Kodandaramaiah, district mines and geology officer said, "The district administration has given permission to all the 133 sand block owners, but the legal procedure is yet to be complete. On August 31, a block owner from Padu Thonse paid the required fee. He began sand extraction from September 1. Yesterday, six sand block owners have applied for a permit renewal. There will be a sand mining committee of seven members including the panchayat president, police department, revenue, mines and geology and a meeting will be held on September 2. Pending issues will be cleared by them. All the approved 133 sand blocks will definitely begin functioning from September 2."

Meanwhile, the police department is prepared to prevent illegal sand mining. There is strong vigilance to monitor any illegal sand movement in the district and to control illegal sand transportation. Vehicles of violaters transporting the sand will be seized.