KOCHI: With the demand and price for the river sand shooting up in Kochi, sand mafia has become active in the district. These rackets extract sand from Periyar after forging seals and passes which are otherwise issued by the district administration. The rackets become active during summer when the water-level at Periyar dips. Summers are also a time when construction work in the city booms. An official of the Shadow Police team, which recently busted a racket at Cheranalloor, says that areas like Cheranalloor, Koothattu and Periyar witness widespread sand mining. He added that such mafia extract sand worth over `50 lakh a day. Such rackets operate by forging government seals. “Last month, the police arrested a group that engages in forging seals and passes to help illegal miners. The probe had proved that there are several other rackets that operate similarly. There are agents who forge the certificate of Mining and Geological Department in Aluva and Kalady. A person was arrested in this regard,” said police officials. According to Tommy Sebastian, Assistant Commissioner, Special Branch, the cost of a truck-load of sand is more than `20,000. “Since there is a severe shortage of sand, the prices would shoot up. We have deployed a team to monitor the situation in areas close to Periyar. These mafias operate in remote areas making it difficult for the police to net the culprits. We are planning strict action in this regard,” he added. A special squad has been deployed under each Tahasildar to monitor the situation. “Last year, sand worth `10 crore was illegally extracted in the district. The mafia based in Idukki is getting equally active and a huge quantity of sand is being smuggled to Kochi. The illegal extraction will make the water murky and polluted,” the Revenue officials said.
Comments
0 comment