AAP raid on illegal sand unit whips govt into action

As repeated attempts of locals heeded no positive result, members of AAP along with freedom fighter H S Doreswamy on Friday raided an ‘illegal’ sand filtering unit in Ganakallu of Hemmigepura, off NICE Road, on Friday.

According to co-convenor of AAP Ravi Krishna Reddy, the sand unit was being operated in the property belonging to the BBMP with the blessing of politicians. Repeated efforts by localites to stop it went in vain, as the officials concerned, including the police, have turned a blind eye toward this illegality in a ‘quid pro quo’ deal, he said.

Senior officials of the Revenue department including Deputy Commissioner V Shankar arrived at the spot and instructed the officials to take necessary action to prevent such illegal units in and around his jurisdiction.

Shankar also instructed the Kengeri police to file an FIR about the unit and told the officials to fence the area. He has also directed them to submit an inquiry report in a week. It is learnt that the persons running the unit, Mahesh and Srinivas, are absconding after the raid.

Officials of mines and geology and the Tahsildar of Bengaluru south have seized machineries found in the unit, including two tractors and also seized ten loads of filtered sand. Reddy said the duo supplied the filter sand, which is low in quality, for government construction activities.