Illegal sand transportation is rampant on the outskirts of the city. As many as 208 trucks loaded with illegal sand were seized in simultaneous raids conducted by officers from the Bangalore rural district administration along with Police and Mines and Geology in wee hours of Tuesday.
The surprise drive was taken up at four points on the city outskirts and officials stopped hundreds of trucks. Most of the trucks were carrying filter sand, which is banned. DC Rural V Shankar said there was tip off about sand trucks being operated in wee hours.
“Sale of filter sand is banned. Despite the prohibition, we found that these trucks operate during the night till early morning. Four special teams were formed with the help of local tahashildars and officials from the police and mines and geology department. The trucks were stopped and checked at Nelamangala, Doddballapur, Hoskote and Devanahalli. The trucks which were seized have no permit and no proper documents,” he said.
Bangalore Rural SP B Rameah said the trucks will be released after the DC Rural imposes fine for transporting sand without permit. “We have seized the trucks in a joint operation with the DC Rural office. Since they are first time offenders, DC will impose a fine and later these vehicles will be released,” he said.
An official said that nearly 1,000-1,500 trucks make entry into the city everyday. “Since the drive was launched on Tuesday morning many trucks changed their routes and some stopped on the roadside. The checking was done only on highways near the toll gates and within an hour 208 trucks were seized,” the official said.