Palemar involved in sand mafia, alleges Vijay Kumar Shetty

Palemar involved in sand mafia, alleges Vijay Kumar Shetty

Mangalore, Jul 20: “The sand mafia menace is intensifying in DK district,” said former MLA of Suratkal K. Vijaya Kumar Shetty, adding that tons of sand being stored in the premises of Vikas College of Physiotherapy, which belongs to District-in-charge Minister Krishna Palemar, is quite shocking.

He was speaking to reporters at the District Congress office. He also informed that, when DC V. Ponnuraj ordered an investigation into the matter, the minister said that it was legal and not illegal sand. Since Palemar is involved in the sand mafia in the district, he urged officials in Bangalore to probe into the matter, alleged Mr. Kumar.

 

 

License-holder Prabhachandra Mayya had permission to store only 350 tonnes of sand, but the college premises held much more sand than that, he pointed out. Palemar had received permission from the mines and geology department of Bangalore to transport 3,200 tonnes of sand to Isro Company, which is based in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, he said.

Mr. Kumar also said that the huge load of sand has been stored on land belonging to Harshitha Caterers under the guidance of Sujith and Harish Alva. He accused many BJP leaders, including Palemar, of being involved in sand mafia.

Urging Palemar not to follow the policy of the Reddy brothers, he pointed out that Palemar had stated on May 11 that the CDP will be completed within a fortnight, but it has still not been completed even after 3 months.

Congress spokesperson M. G. Hegde said that Palemar must produce details of licenses, names of trip sheet holders, and amount of royalty paid for the transport of sand before filing defamation charges against the Congress. The minister should be aware that the Opposition, the public, and the media have a right to question him and demand information. He also warned the minister that he must fight against the entire Congress, and not just against Vijay Kumar Shetty.

Members of the Congress such as Shashidhar Hegde, PV Mohan, Abdul Azeez, Sudhir T. K., Deepak Tripati Patil, Suresh Ballal, Arun Coelho, Harinath, and Vishwas Das were also present.