VIJAYAWADA: The State government has described the Sand Week (Nov 14-21) as a success and said a total of Rs 63 crore worth sand was sold during the period. It said the daily sand production has reached 2.82 lakh tonnes and asserted that the improvement in sand availability gave the much-needed push to the construction sector.
In a press release issued Thursday, the government said the Sand Week, which concluded on Thursday, has achieved its objective and the efforts to ensure adequate sand supply have yielded results. Due to heavy rains and floods for three months in almost all rivers, including Krishna and Godavari, around 275 sand reaches and sand desilitation points were affected and sand production was stopped.
However, as the flood waters started receding, measures were taken to restore normalcy and as part of it, the Sand Week was conducted by involving officials of almost all departments. Subsequently, sand was made available to all the construction projects in the State and the works picked up in a steady manner, the release explained.
Under the directions of Chief Minister, sand availability was assessed and the places, where it could be excavated without any delay, were identified. Sand depots and supply points were set up and sand was sold to individuals through online in a transparent manner. Even the patta lands, where sand got accumulated, were identified and the sand was excavated, the release added.
As on November 21, the last day of the Sand Week, the sand availability touched 2.8 lakh tonnes mark, which is more than the demand in the State. To avoid illegal sale of sand, the government has implemented various measures, including fixing transportation tariff.
Such measures saw better availability of sand to the construction projects. The policy of fixing tariff for sand and its transportation replaces the old system in which sand mafias used to decide the price arbitrarily, officials said.