Srikakulam: Illegal sand mining rampant on Andhra and Odisha border

Srikakulam: Sand mining is rampant in Vamsadhara river at Andhra and Odisha border (AOB) areas. The river starts in Odisha and passes through Srikakulam district in the State. Sand is being excavated at Neradi and Singidi areas in Bhamini mandal in Srikakulam district.

But sand miners are saying that they are excavating sand from Puritiguda area which is in Odisha and located exactly on the opposite side of Singidi in our State. Sand mining is allowed freely in the river in Odisha and the sand can be transported to different places in Odisha and AP also. Based on Supreme Court orders, sand mining in Vamsadhara river in Odisha is allowed and the same sand can be transported to AP also. Sand mining is not allowed by private persons in AP and here government alone can distribute the sand through payment of amount by way of online transaction.

But sand reaches located in Odisha are not having clear road access and difficult to transport it from the reaches. Sand miners are excavating sand in AP border areas and saying that it was excavated from Odisha areas. There is a huge demand for Srikakulam sand for construction works in Visakhapatnam city. Sand mafia gangs of Visakhapatnam are eyeing on these border areas in the wake of relaxation of lockdown restrictions. On Monday night, revenue officials of Bhamini mandal in Srikakulam district seized 19 lorries at Neradi village and handed over the vehicles to police on Tuesday. All these lorries belong to residents of Visakhapatnam.

To prevent illegal sand mining, revenue officials initiated survey on Tuesday at Neradi and Singidi villages to fix boundaries between AP and Odisha States in the river. "Today we have set up boundaries for our villages along with surveyors and will continue the exercise till the boundaries are fixed," Bhamini tahasildar S Narasimha Murthy explained on Tuesday.