Activists of Anna Hazare Horata Samiti staged a protest in the city on Thursday demanding the government take necessary measures to ensure easy availability of sand in the district at affordable price.
Addressing the protest meet, Ashok Yadav, samiti secretary, said in wake of scanty rain in the district last year, the deposit of sand on the riverbank was not on expected levels, following which the Public Works Department (PWD) had adopted rationing system.
It was planned to lift 7.43 lakh cubic metre (1,23,800 truckloads) of sand in the district in 2015-16 against which only 3.05 lakh cubic metre (45,000 truckloads) was available. The sand is being lifted at 38 places in the district.
Mr. Yadav said that as the PWD was not being able to meet the demand. The government has fixed a sum of Rs. 3,300 for a truckload of sand. However, in the wake of scarcity, persons who have taken up construction of houses and commercial buildings, were purchasing sand from private persons by paying up to Rs. 25,000 per truckload, he said.
He alleged that transparency was not maintained in allotment of sand in the stockyards set up by the PWD. He pressed the government to address the gap between the demand and supply of sand by identifying new lifting points and to take necessary measures to ensure transparency in allotment of sand. The protesters raised slogans demanding stern action against those involved in illegal transportation and sale of sand.
They submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner. Functionaries of the samiti, D. Raju, Subrahmanya, and Anand took part in the protest.
