Udupi, October 22: The construction labourers, daily wage workers and other workers involved in sand transportation have decided to sit in an indefinite dharna in front of the deputy commissioner’s office here from October 25, demanding solution to the sand problem in the district.

Interestingly, cutting across party line, all elected representatives from the district have decided to extend their support to the dharna.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Opposition Leader in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary said that the dharna would continue till the problem was solved. In the last two decades, he has not seen such a worst administrative system in the district. The strike being observed by the lorry owners and drivers has entered the fifth day on Monday. They have parked their tippers and lorries on either side of national highway from Byndoor to Hejamadi. The district administration has not given permission for them to hold strike on the premises of the DC office, he said.

If the police tortured the vehicle drivers and owners who have been protesting peacefully, all MLAs would support the agitators, he warned the SP.

Now, the labourers who are dependent on sand were facing tough days due to scarcity of sand in the district. So, they have decided to stage dharna demanding solution to the sand problem and all five MLAs and MLCs of the district would support their cause, he said.

When the Chief Minister came to Udupi last time, he had directed the district administration to solve the problem by October 15. Even he held a meeting of the MLAs from coastal districts in Bengaluru and directed the authorities. But the district administration has been dilly-dallying to start the sand mining which shows that the state government has no control over the administration, he said.

Though 27 sand mines were identified in SRZ zone in the district, proposal was sent for only nine blocks and approval was taken only for seven. There were provisions to begin the sand mining legally, the district administration was not showing interest in it. As a result, the families which are dependent on sand mining have come on to the streets. They would continue their protest till they get justice, he said.

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Mumbai, Dec 9: Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday slammed the Congress government in neighbouring Karnataka for deciding to remove the portrait of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar from the Legislative Assembly there.

History will never forgive those who insult the legacy of Savarkar, who had endured immense suffering for the country's independence, Bawankule asserted.

"The decision of the Congress-led government in Karnataka to remove the portrait of Savarkar is highly condemnable and an insult of country's freedom movement," he said on social media platform X.

This was the Congress' attempt to undermine the sacrifices, pain and ideology of Savarkar.

"It directly insults his legacy and the ideals he stood for," Bawankule said, and asked if Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray would remain silent or speak up over this act of his party's ally.

Thackeray, who has abandoned Hindutva for political gain, has shown disregard for Savarkar's ideals by aligning with the Congress, he claimed.

This is why Thackeray's party is being called "Tipu Sena", Bawankule said.

Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysuru, who lost his life in a battle against the British in 1799, is a polarising figure who is hailed as a fearless freedom fighter by his supporters, while his detractors condemn him as a zealot who persecuted Hindus.

"Those who insult Savarkar and his legacy, like the Congress and their allies, will never be forgiven by history," Bawankule said.