Udupi Dist in-charge minister tells SP to take stringent action

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Apr 04, 2017: The Udupi district In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said he too has directed the Udupi DC  and assistant commissioner regularly to take action against illegal sand mining activities.

Minister Madhwaraj stressed that he appreciates the courage of the two woman officers. "Raids have been conducted on illegal sand mining sites on my direction several times. The district borders are sealed and frequently monitored for the illegal transport of sand," he added.

He said the Udupi DC and her team paid a surprise visit. But they did not inform the police and the vehicles they travelled had no indication of their official status. Moreover, the deputy commissioner’s gunman had entered the house of one Shesha Mogaveera and attacked Bhaskar Mogaveera. This provoked the house members, especially women, chased and attacked the officers. The superintendent of police has been asked to take stringent action without succumbing to any pressure, he added.

There is no instance in the district wherein the sand mining is taking place legally due to the situation following the National Green Tribunal order. People are forced to indulge in illegal activities for the need of sand, he added.

Police has not failed :  ADGP (Law and order) Alok Mohan said there is no failure on the part of the police to take action against illegal sand mining activities in the district.

The task force is in charge of the responsibility. There is no failure on part of intelligence as well. The incident hsa been taken seriously and immediate action will be taken against the suspects, he added.


Arrest culprits: Dalit forums :   Dalita Damanithara Swabhimani Horata Samithi and Dalit Organisations’ Federation, Udupi, have condem-ned the attack on DC Priyanka Mary Francis and Assistant Commissioner Shilpa Nag when they went on a surprise inspection to a sand extraction site at Kandlur in Kundapura in the wee hours on Monday.

In a press release, the leaders of the organisations urged the authorities to arrest the culprits. People in the district are facing inconvenience due to sand shortage. The assault is condemnable and those respo-nsible for the incident should be brought to the book. The SP and the police department sho-uld ensure such incidents do not recur in the district. Measures should be taken to prevent illegal sand extraction and tra-nsportation, they demanded.