Margao: The South Goa Sand Suppliers Association has warned that they will be left with no option than to stop the entry of Maharashtra registered trucks transporting sand into the State if their vehicles are not allowed to transport sand.
They also made a fervent plea to the government to resume sand mining, saying if sand from Maharashtra can come into the State, why not sand mining is started in Goa till date. Referring to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s recent assurance that sand mining will start in the State in the next four months, the sand transports reminded that it’s now four years since sand extraction had come to a stop in the State.
Row over sand transport vehicles entering into state
Rallying under the banner of South Goa Sand Suppliers Association at Cuncolim on Tuesday, the transporters wondered how come 300 sand transporting vehicles can enter Goa every day. They failed to understand the rationale behind the ban on sand mining in Goa when it is going on unabated in neighbouring Maharashtra.
“If 300 sand transporting trucks enter Goa with sand from Maharashtra, what are the 600 members of the South Goa Sand Suppliers Association expected to do? Are we supposed to watch the trucks from Maharashtra unload sand in Goa while our trucks lie idle without any business? How are we supposed to pay the taxes and the fines to department,” they wondered.
