Goons of 'sand mining mafia' vandalize the only bridge of Pavoor-Uliya residents

Harsha Raj Gatty
February 3, 2019

Mangaluru, Oct 3: Miscreants vandalise the temporary bridge of the Pavoor-Uliya 'island village' in Mangaluru city, a week after the residents successfully draw the attention of the district authorities to the rampant and unauthorised sand extraction from the area. 

"Besides removing the planks from the temporary bridge, bending the support beams and metal joints of the structure, the miscreants have also vandalised at least seven two-wheelers including an auto rickshaws that belonged to the residents and parked on the other side of the temporary (non-motorable) bridge," Glen, Pavoor Uliya resident says. 

After years of repeated pleas to sand miners to stop illegal sand extraction, in the last week of January the villagers confronted the sand miners and forced them to vacate the boats and equipments. "We informed police, Geology and mining department, who came and seized at least seven boats, equipments and machinery. This seems to have frustrated the sand miners in their operation," a resident said.

According to another island resident Gilbert, over 50-years ago the distance between the village to the mainland was barely 50 feet; however due to the rising water and illegal sand mining in the area, the divide between the two regions has grown wider.

"Though there is a ban on sand mining in the region, at night we see several trucks and JCBs lined up on the other side of the river, lifting loads of sand. When we questioned the workers regarding the permit for sand-mining, the workers threatened us. We have reported the matter to the police and DC office several times, however just before the officials raid, the labourers suddenly windup their work and flee. It’s quite evident that someone within the department is tipping them about the official visits," a resident under condition of anonymity says. The pollution caused due to sand-mining has also driven away the fish in the nearby river beds, which was earlier one of the important occupations and source of income for the locals.

Located off the coast of Mangalore city, Pavoor Uliya, (Uliya means which means "leftover or remaining land) lies in the midst of Nethravathi river. To connect to the mainland (Mangalore city), the villagers have cross 600-metres of water. The tiny island that has 51 families living for the past three-four generation, has however no basic amenities such as school, medical facility, street lights, shops, or even motorable roads. Except for a Hindu family, rest of the 50 families are Catholics, and the village is never prone to any communal incident. Most of the residents of this village daily commute to the mainland (Mangalore City), where they are employed in commercial establishments.

Each year post monsoon season the island-village of about 250 people pool funds together to build a temporary (non-motorable) bridge. According to the residents it takes at least over a lakh to build the bridge, that they construct post -monsoon season to cross over the river. "During rain we use a motorised boat to cross the river since the bridge can be easily swept away by strong currents," Glen says.

While the case has been booked in the jurisdictional police station, Mangalore City Police Commissioner TR Suresh who visited the spot assured the residents that the policing in the area will be intensified and the perpetrators will be caught. "We are investigating the matter; the suspects will be arrested soon. We will also take some additional measures in the area for the protection of the people," he said.

District-in-charge minister UT Khader who visited the area on Saturday morning, also assured the residents of providing CCTV coverage at the entry point to the village.

In the backdrop of construction sector of the city complaining 'sand shortage', the illegal transporters and hoarders continue to extract sand from unmarked or ecologically sensitive areas and sell it for higher price. Just weeks earlier, Dakshina Kannada DC Sasikanth Senthil had 'debunked' the scarcity myth and said that the control room for 'Sand Crisis' had no call from the needy despite being operational for a month. He had also warned construction companies against excessive 'sand mining'.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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Mangaluru: Officials from Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime Police Station in Mangaluru have arrested a man for allegedly engaging in an online fraud by deceiving a person on the pretext of offering a part-time job. The arrested is Saddam Gauri alias Bavuri, 30, from Rajasthan.

City police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said the CEN police received a complaint regarding an online scam related to a part-time job offer.

Police registered a case under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with IPC Section 420. The complainant had received a link via WhatsApp from an unknown number, purportedly offering a part-time job opportunity.

Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to complete certain tasks to earn money. However, during the process, the complainant incurred a loss of Rs 1.1 lakh.

Following an investigation into the matter, the CEN police successfully arrested the suspect and presented him before the court. In the course of arrest, police seized two mobile phones, eight debit cards, four bank cheque books, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and other relevant documents from the accused.

The arrest was made possible through the efforts of CEN station inspector Shyam Sundar and his team, under the guidance of City Crime Records Bureau (CCRB) ACP Ravish Nayak and DCP Siddharth Goyal.

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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