Heed demands or face stir, sand lorry owners warn government

Rajamani also stated that a petition has been submitted to the chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in person in this regard. 

Addressing the media, he said, after the ban on sand mining in the state, the High court had ordered to close down seven prevailing sand quarries in the state. With nearly 80 per cent of works already being stopped due to the prevailing sand shortage, closure of the quarries will impede construction work in the state. It will result in several lakhs of workers losing their livelihood. 

He charged that the alternative source M-sand is being sold at variant prices by private companies. At the same time, sensing the high demand, private parties are selling crusher dust as M-sand. Moreover, there is no proper mechanism to test the genuineness of M-sand, and hence the plea to the state government to approach the apex court for permission. 

Cautioning that these sub-standard sand will weaken the construction, the TNSLOF president demanded that the government should take proper action for re-appealing over the sand ban to the Supreme Court. There is also a demand to regularise the M-sand market and ensure distribution of sand via online registration for maintaining transparency.