Udupi: The state government and the district administration have failed completely in solving the sand extraction issue in Udupi district, said MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary.
Addressing the media here on Monday, October 22 at his office, the MLC and leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council said that the sand problem in the district is one of the most severe failures of the district administration.
For the last two years, the sand problem in the district has affected the livelihood of truck operators in the construction sector and all other sectors. In order to solve the issue, the Chief Minister convened a meeting with two Deputy Commissioners, four ministers, 13 MLAs, two MLCs and the concerned ministry officials in Bangaluru. During the meeting, the CM ordered the concerned DCs and others to make sand available from October 16. But, the district administration in Udupi failed to solve the issue, he said.
District in-charge minister Jayamala had also directed the officials to allow sand extraction at a tri-monthly Karnataka Development Programme meeting held in Udupi on October 3, he added.
In order to solve the sand issue in the district, sand extractors, engineers association, construction workers association, tipper owners’ association and other related associations have called for an indefinite agitation in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office from October 26. The BJP will support the agitation till the demands of these associations are met. All MLAs, MLCs and other party leaders will support the agitation and take part in the same, he informed.
The Karnataka government is dead hence, the officers are not obeying their orders. The CM should take action against the officials who don’t obey the orders, he said.
To a query, Kota Srinivas Poojary said although there are 27 sand blocks in the CRZ area, the district administration has identified only nine. In relation to the upcoming by-elections, he said that the BJP will win in all of them.
“The BJP need not worry about the JD(S)-Congress coalition. This coalition itself is making a ‘Congress-free Karnataka’ by joining hands with the JD(S),” he said, criticising HD Deve Gowda and former chief minister Siddaramaiah for addressing the media jointly. The coalition is giving opportunities to the BJP to get overall support from the people of the state, he said.
