CITU stages protest; demands crackdown on sand mafia

CITU stages protest; demands crackdown on sand mafia

www.mangaloretoday.com

Mangaluru, July 20,2015: A protest was staged in front of the DC office in the city on July 20, Monday  by the CITU  demanding steps to crackdown the sand mafia in the district. The protestors also deplored the ban on sand mining and urged the administration to ensure adequate supply of sand for construction activities.

Sunil Kumar Bajal, Secretary of the CITU who addressed the protestors said the ban on sand mining imposed by the administration has hit hard the construction industry while also rendering jobless several hundreds of labourers.

He also pointed out that unauthorized sand mining was going on unabatedly due to the sand mafia, despite the ban on sand extraction. This has also led to a steep hike in sand prices, he added.

The sand thus extracted uauthorisedly is being smuggled to neighbouring states and sold at exorbitant prices, he added.

Yogish Jeppinamogaru, General Secretary of Construction Workers Federation of India accused the state government of being apathetic towards the problem of unauthorized sand mining, The problems of construction workers and their families have gone unnoticed, he added.