Illegal sand quarrying unabated in Kundaram

Adilabad: Revenue department officials are turning a blind eye to illegal sand quarrying in Kundaram village of Jaipur mandal in view of its value running into crores.

The illegal traders are active after procuring patta lands, having secured permission in Survey numbers 697, 698, 701 and 702 spread over 18 acres.

However, the traders are not confining their activities to the permitted areas. They are virtually looting sand in hundreds of acres in the Godavari river banks worth rupees hundreds of crores, using three heavy machines and filling hundreds of lorries.

As against the permitted 1.28 cubic metres of sand, the sand mafia has already collected two lakh cubic metres. A local resident, Latchanna, told The Hans India here on Thursday that the illegal traders managed to excavate more than three times the permitted quantity.

Local residents have urged the administration to take action against the officials who allotted pattas to the illegal sand traders. However, Jaipur MRO Sushila claimed that the sand traders were confining their activities only on the sanctioned patta lands.

Due to the illegal sand quarrying, huge pits of ten metres have been formed in the Godavari bank area close to the village, which has been severely affected by this activity. The farmers here are losing three crops in a year.

The groundwater level has sharply fallen, said farmer Ravinder. He pointed out that bore wells were not yielding water even after spending lakhs of Rupees. As a result, crops are drying up due to lack of water supply.

Water levels in the wells have also fallen drastically and many of them have gone dry. Farmers are expressing concern over loss of crops that survive mainly on well and bore water.

They have appealed to officials to act against the illegal sand excavators, who seem to be unmoved by the plight of the farmers.

The illegal sand traders have even laid 'kutcha' roads in the Godavari for transporting sand, much to the concern of farmers. There is a danger of such roads forcing the river to change its course.

If that happens, hundreds of acres could be lost, farmer Karunakar Reddy said. Local residents want the administration to demolish the kutcha roads.

The illegal sand trade is causing a scare among the people travelling from Kundaram to Jaipur, as they face a threat of getting run over by the sand lorries.

Many riders of two-wheelers have lost their limbs following accidents involving these lorries. Contractors are absolutely indifferent to such mishaps. The roads are getting damaged because of their use by heavy vehicles. Some roads have developed deep pits, some of them of three ft, pointed out a resident of Kundaram Naresh.

Many villagers allege that these lorries travel at high speed giving rise to clouds of dust, which causes respiratory problems among the residents.

Although many lorries carry heavier loads, the officials of the Transport Department are not bothered to take action against the drivers.