THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A resolution adopted in the Corporation Council of Thiruvananthapuram has called upon the Government to initiate urgent action against the smuggling of sand worth crores of rupees from the Akkulam lake.Presenting the resolution V S Padmakumar, Chairman, Works Standing Committee, said here on the other day that Akkulam lake, which is a major tourist centre in the capital city and has an area of 60 hectares, is being encroached by land sharks. The last LDF government had sanctioned Rs 30 crore for an Akkulam village renovation project.While the renovation work is under progress the land mafia has started encroaching the embankment of the lake by reclaiming the lake. The District Collector had issued eviction notices to 18 encroachers asking them to vacate the land before July 10. But none of them have vacated the encroached land. At the same time, the contractor who has been entrusted with the dredging of the lake is smuggling out sand worth crores of rupees on a daily basis, the resolution said. While one tipper load of sand would fetch Rs 35,000, and a Taurus truck full of sand Rs 70,000 in the market, the contractor is paying just Rs 65 lakh for huge collection of sand which is being smuggled on an average of 60 loads a day. The Government could have generated a huge income from the sale of the sand from here. It could have been sold through the ‘Kalavara’ outlets for the benefit of people belonging to the BPL category at a subsidised rate.It was the other day that the District Collector issued stop memo forbidding the smuggling of sand.
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