Sand lorry owners to stage ‘waiting’ protest

According to S Yuvaraj, president of the federation, the State government has been operating only two sand quarries that together supply only 100 loads of sand every day, far shorter than what is required. “The shortage of sand is hurting the industry severely,” he added.

In a petition submitted to the government, the federation has mentioned that nearly 45,000 lorry owners booked consignments worth Rs 20 crore through the online portal last April. The lorry owners also noted that the government had promised them that a new quarry would be opened for operation in near future. “It is yet to be realised,” said Yuvaraj.

The PWD (Mines) auctioned 55,000 tonnes of river sand from Malaysia this October to address the shortage of sand. When asked, a PWD official said that another consignment of river sand is expected to reach the city soon. “It should mitigate the crisis in the State,” he added.