Mangaluru | May 03, 2016: Villagers from Kuppepadavu and Mutturu said illegal sand mining activities were going on at the Phalguni River in the Mutturu Gram Panchayat limits, and also hinted about the alleged involvement of officials in the Mines and Geology Department.

At a press conference at Hotel Woodlands here on Monday, Shareef Bikkod of Mutturu said, “Though illegal sand mining has been taking place at Mutturu and Kulavooru, in the Mutturu Gram Panchayat limits, officials in the Mines and Geology Department have not taken any measures to stop the same.

Instead of taking action against those who are involved in illegal mining, officials like B Krishna Murthy and Nagendrappa, attached to the Mines and Geology Department, asked the people not to raise their voice against sand mining.”

Shareef suspected the involvement of officials in the Mines and Geology Department in illegal sand mining and asked Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim to form a separate committee to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

(Source: http://www.sahilonline.org/)