Udupi | Sandbars in Seeta, Swarna, Papanashini rivers to be identified soon

Udupi, Nov 1: A report on the bathymetry survey for identification of sandbars in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas in the Seeta, the Swarna and the Papanashini rivers in Udupi and Brahmavar taluks is expected reach the district administration on November 4.

Priyanka Mary Francis, Deputy Commissioner, said here on Wednesday that in the previously identified nine sand bars in the CRZ areas in the district, permission had been received for only seven sand bars.

Again in these seven blocks, the local Mogaveera Sangha had objected to removal of excess sand in two sand bars. Hence, only five sand bars were available for removal of excess sand in CRZ areas.

In the non-CRZ areas, 18 sand blocks had been identified in the district. Of these, 12 had been notified. Six sand blocks are in Byndoor taluk, which will be notified on November 8 after the bypolls. The gazette notification of these 12 notified blocks will be issued on November 2, Ms. Francis said.

Apart from these 12 blocks, two sand blocks in Karkala taluk had been given to the PWD for removal of sand to be used for government work and housing schemes. The work order had been issued for these two blocks. But there was water logging due to recent rains in these two blocks.

Agitation continues

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat on Wednesday said that the Maraligagi Horata Samiti will intensify its agitation in the district if all 171 previous permit holders were not given permits for sand extraction by the district administration.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Bhat said that the indefinite dharna against both the district administration and the State government, which completed a week, would continue till it was resolved to the satisfaction of the samiti. If the matter was not resolved by November 10, then the samiti would call for an Udupi district bandh on November 10.

After the bandh, the samiti will launch an indefinite strike where the construction sector would stop all activities in the district. Various organizations in the samiti had agreed that they would not accept the permits being provided by the administration to 92 permit holders.

There should be full-fledged sand extraction in the district. The State government had directed the district administration to provide 92 permit holders who held the permits before 2011. If this was done, the permit holders would get only 300 tonnes of sand each, he said.