10 more sand reaches identified in East Godavari

Rajamahendravaram: To meet the increasing demand for sand, the district administration has identified 10 more sand reaches in addition to the existing 24. Of the total 24 sand reaches, digging was stalled in six reaches due to court cases and some other reasons. According to sources, a feasibility survey revealed that there was a lot of scope for sand mining in the district.

One sand reach was identified in Kadiyapulanka, two each in Ravulapalem and Kapileswarapuram, two in Tatipudi and two in Vemagiri. Though sand reaches suitable for digging, clearances from departments of mines and geology, environment, forest and ground water are yet to come.

As there is a lot of demand for sand, the government had sanctioned new sand reaches to cater to the needs of people. Many are showing interest in river Godavari sand and even the sand is transported to Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur for construction purpose.

Meanwhile, collector Karthikeya Mishra in a recent meeting directed the respective officials to get necessary clearances to new sand reaches to bring them into use.