Pics: Umesh Marpalli

Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (MS)

Kundapur, Oct 31: "I will inform the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the district to take suitable action on MLA Raghupati Bhat. Though the election code of conduct is in place in the district, the MLA's act of resorting to protest asking to start sand extraction on a full scale is not correct," said chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy was speaking to the reporters at Trasi near here on Tuesday, October 30.

He further said, "DC of Udupi district is innocent. She is following the rules and regulations correctly as per the law. The sand issue has cropped up due to certain regulations of the central government,"

"The government has given permission to 93 people who are doing traditional sand extraction. However, the sand extraction issue is aggravated due to the adamant nature of BJP, which is asking the government to provide permission to 171 people. This will be against the law. Earlier the sand was being sent to rich and affluent. In order to curtail this, the government has implemented certain rules and regulations. Poor people should get sand for the construction of their houses. That is our first priority," Kumaraswamy added.