Control price or face siege protest, warn sand lorry owners

TIRUCHY: After introducing online booking for loads in the sand quarries, the Chief Minister announced that a unit of sand would be sold at Rs 1,000, but in reality it has been sold at Rs 4,000 per unit by the contractors. The Chief Minister should assign officials to monitor the sand quarries, otherwise a protest would be held across the state, said Rajasekar, state president of Sand Lorry Owners’ Association here on Monday.

The meeting of Tamil Nadu Sand Lorry Owners’ Association and South Chennai Sand Lorry Owners’ Association was held here in which the members from across the state took part.

Speaking to reporters, the TN Sand Lorry Owners’ Association president Rajasekar said the Chief Minister launched the online sale of sand from the sand quarries and promised that the sale would be made based on the booking seniority and to avoid the interference of the middlemen, the officials are instructed to sell sand at Rs 1,000 per unit. “Despite the Chief Minister’s announcement, presently, the sand has been sold at Rs 4,000 per unit by the contractors and we wonder whether the government is aware of it and the information has been taken to the knowledge of the Chief Minister,” Rajasekar said.

Since the contractors collect Rs 16,000 for four units of sand for each lorry, this steep price affects several thousands of workers involved in the work. “We are afraid that our livelihood would be lost due to this,” he said.

Rajasekar further said that the association approached the PWD officials and even spoke to the contractors to control the price. “But no action has been initiated so far and so the association has decided to hold siege protect in all the sand quarries,” he added.