Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 26: Chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, promised to mitigate the problem of sand shortage being experienced in coastal districts of Karnataka before October 15 this year. He also gave in principle nod to relax some of the restrictions placed on sand extraction in these districts.

At the meeting of legislators from coastal Karnataka that was held at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday September 25, which was presided over by the chief minister, the MLAs brought to his notice the sand crisis faced by the coastal districts.

"Because of strict rules in force, sand is not available in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. Thousands of families are in dire straits because of this. The rules governing sand extraction should be eased and traditional sand mining should be allowed," they requested. They also expressed their dissatisfaction about the inaction of the government to address the issue, duly pointing out that construction activity has come to standstill because of sand problem.

The chief minister said that the problem would be addressed before October 15, and restrictions on sand mining would be relaxed with effect from October 16. He issued instructions to officials to take necessary steps in this direction. He promised to allow traditional sand mining in Coastal Regulatory Zones (CRZ).

Speaking to media persons after the meeting, leader of the opposition in legislative council, Kota Srinivas Poojary, said that coastal districts are quite different from others as far as sand problem is concerned and that these two districts are in need of a separate sand policy. He said that this problem is persisting since several years, and because of the government's inertia, it has not been addressed, and this also gives rise to illegal sand extraction. He pointed out that sand prices have skyrocketed.

Poojary said that traditional sand extraction in CRZ zones has been restricted, and the government's efforts to distribute sand blocks by calling for tenders in other zones have failed. People are suffering from sand shortage, and the chief minister has promised to address the problem by October 15, he explained. He said that the chief minister has been urged to stop the police from harassing poor people carrying sand extracted through traditional manner in small vehicles for house construction.

Ministers, U T Khader and Jayamala, MLAs, Harish Poonja, Sukumar Shetty, and Sunil Kumar among others were present at the meeting.