Illegal sand mining on Nethravathi, Phalguni river banks in Mangaluru: Three arrested
sand worth lakhs seized
Mangaluru: City police and government officers raided the banks of the Nethravathi and Phalguni rivers and, upon finding men engaged in illegal sand mining, seized sand worth lakhs of rupees along with the equipment used by the miners.
The Kankanady police team that visited the banks of the Nethravathi River behind the Kannur mosque on Monday night found men mining sand and loading it into trucks using boats. However, the men escaped upon noticing the police's arrival, officers said.
The team seized three tippers, two boats (each carrying one unit of mined sand), 12 baskets, six crowbars, and an iron ladder from the site. The seized sand is estimated to be worth approximately ₹18.1 lakh, police said. A case has been registered against the suspects for mining sand without paying royalties to the state government.
In a separate case, Kavoor Police raided the banks of the Phalguni River in Mangalpade and arrested three men, Subhash (65), Lalit Sahni (25), and Dharmendra (28), for illegal sand mining.
The police team had received information regarding illegal sand mining on the Phalguni River banks and visited the area on Monday night. Although the miners attempted to flee, they were apprehended. Upon questioning, they confessed to mining the sand, officers confirmed. A case has been registered against the three men at the Kavoor Police Station.
Additionally, a team of officers from the Mining and Geology Department, along with the tahsildar of Adyapadi village, raided the banks of the Phalguni River at Daivangala Gudde and found illegal sand mining taking place. The team also discovered a temporary shed set up on the banks and six iron boats, presumably used by the miners, who fled upon noticing the officials.
The officers seized 13 metric tonnes of sand, worth ₹9,100, that had been piled up on the riverbank, along with the boats, which are estimated to be worth approximately ₹4.5 lakh.
The Bajpe Police have registered a case regarding illegal sand mining on the Phalguni River banks. Further investigation is underway.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Scams, kickbacks and favoritism have become order of the day' in Karnataka: BJP
New Delhi(PTI): The BJP on Friday said the Congress government in Karnataka may not last long with corruption and appeasement politics becoming the “order of the day” in the state.
This came after the Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) on Thursday claimed that "unseen hands and brokers" were active in the offices of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and two other senior Cabinet Ministers, alleging that the menace of commission in the state was now more than the previous BJP government.
Responding to the allegations, the deputy chief minister on Friday suggested that if anyone has demanded commission from the contractors to pay their bills, then they should file a complaint with the Lokayukta.
“In Karnataka, corruption is at its peak in an organised manner,” BJP national spokesperson Pratyush Kanth told a press conference at party headquarters here, reacting to the development.
“You have institutionalised corruption. Only big contracts are getting their bills cleared. The medium and the small ones are struggling,” he said.
Kanth said the Congress had promised “so many things” during the state assembly polls but “scams, kickbacks and favoritism have become order of the day” under the party’s rule in the state.
While the crisis of “water and electricity bills” continues in Karnataka, the road taxes on new vehicles and bus fares have gone up, he said.
“The common people are bleeding there…This corrupt government is not going to last long. This project of Rahul Gandhi to ensure corruption all over KA is not going to have the light of the day,” he added.
Citing recent remarks reportedly made by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Economic Advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy, the BJP spokesperson said people in power, who run the state, are now saying that the state has become number one in corruption.
“Even the revenue minister of Karnataka had (earlier) gone on record to say that there is a lot of corruption in his department…This is very disturbing because Karnataka has to be the ‘khata khat model’ of Rahul Gandhi,” he said, taking a swipe at the Congress leader.
Rayareddy, who was reported to have recently said at an event that Karnataka is number one in corruption, later clarified that his remarks were misquoted and taken out of context.
