Mangaluru
The Civil Contractors Association urged the Dakshina Kannada administration to solve the sand crisis in the district immediately. The association has decided to hold a protest in front of Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall from 3 pm to 4.30 pm on Friday, seeking that the authorities resolve the crisis at the earliest. Association president Mahabala Kottary said the construction industry has been severely hit as no sand mining has been taking place in non-CRZ areas for more than five months.
He told media persons that the building contractors are finding it difficult to complete their work using the M-Sand which is expensive, and even customers do not prefer it due to quality issues. Also, 90% of the construction labourers are migrants from north India. They will leave Mangaluru if they do not have work for long, and bringing them back to the city will be difficult. Hence, he urged the administration to cancel the sand mining tenders in non-CRZ areas over failure to install weighbridges and go for re-tendering to tide over the sand crisis in the district.
Association vice-president Dinker Suvarna said the river sand is available for Rs 18,000 per load, and it will be delivered during the night, indicating that illegal sand mining is going unabated in the district. If the sand crisis continues for another fortnight, then the hardware, electrical and other allied industries will also bear the brunt. Many sand trucks and tippers have no work, and are finding it difficult to repay the loan instalments, he said.
Members of the Canara Builders Association, CREDAI, Karavali Cement Dealers Association, Steel Dealers Association and Paint Hardware Dealers Association will take part in the protest.
