Show cause notices issued to 20 sand lorry owners

Show cause notices have been issued to the owners of 20 sand lorries seized by the District Revenue Department officials at Sathanancheri in Uthiramerur taluk.



According to official sources, the Uthiramerur tasildar, Kasthuri received a tip off that sand was being quarried illegally from river Palar at Sathanancheri, where the Public Works Department had not set up a quarry.

When a team of officials, led by her, reached the riverbed at around 2.30 p.m. on Monday, they found 20 lorries laden with sand and about to leave the riverbed at Sathanancheri, whereas the PWD had set up the quarry at nearby Aathur village.

Immediately, all the lorries, except one whose battery had dried up, were seized and brought to the Salavalkam police station.

Subsequently, the Revenue Divisional Officer, Kancheepuram, S. Palani was informed about the seizure, who later issued show cause notices to the lorry owners.

Orders yet to be passed
At the same time, final orders was yet to be passed on the show cause notices issued to the owners of 19 sand lorries, which were seized by the Revenue officials from river Palar at Muthuvedu near here on October 4 night.

More disadvantages

Meanwhile, sand lorry operators and sand lorry drivers lamented that disadvantages weigh more than the advantages in the new system of sand quarrying introduced by the government recently.

Though the new system of manual loading of sand was advantageous in terms of less time involved in loading the vehicles, such advantage was nullified by the inordinate delay in measuring the quantity of sand loaded and issuance of bills at the exit point by the government staff.