JOIN USLorry owners in the State have decided to continue with their indefinite strike for the second day, protesting against the restrictions imposed on movement of sand lorries.
The government had told the truck owners that a fine of Rs one lakh would be imposed on one truckload of sand without permit. In turn, they have urged the government to provide them with sand transport permits.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, G R Shanmugappa, president, Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents said: “Bangalore alone needs about 3,000 truck loads of sand per day. Overall, Karnataka needs about 12,500-13,000 loads. In the absence of proper permits, what is one going to do.”
In 2011, he said, the government initiated a policy that said that the Public Works department will provide permits/sand to people in accordance with the Tamil Nadu model.
“However, they did that only for about two to three months as they did not have enough sand. Ever since, sand is being purchased from farmers. But, now there are unnecessary restrictions, affecting the whole industry,” he said.
He explained that about 2,700 loads of sand comes into Bangalore without permits every day, as the government is issuing permits only for about 200-300 loads. The situation across the state is the same.
“The Mines and Geology department has identified about 1,600 places to excavate sand but government is using only nine of them. Thereby, only 1,200 to 1,400 loads of sand is legally being transported per day, while the actual requirement in the state is 12,500 to 13,000 loads.
This is resulting in illegal transportation of sand,” Shanmugappa said.
Stating that several representations with the previous state government and with the Congress government to review the sand policy and bring in a more realistic and effective system had been futile, he said: “All the 25,000 trucks that transport sand in the state are off the roads beginning Monday.”
Prolonged strike is likely to affect the construction industry in the city and state. A load of sand (10 to 12 tonne) is currently priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 (without permit) and Rs 6,000 with permit. Even the rates are expected to increase drastically.