Sand Row: Indefinite Protest Called off after Meeting State Secretary for Mines
Udupi: The protesters of Maraligagi Horata Samithi protesting against the district administration demanding to resolve the Sand extraction crises called off their seven-day-long indefinite protest on Thursday evening following talks with Rajender Kumar Kataria, state secretary for Mines.
On Thursday evening Rajender Kumar Kataria, state secretary for Mines arrived at the Udupi DC office and held a meeting with the peoples’ representatives along with the Deputy Commissioner and other mines and geology department officials. After the meeting Rajender Kumar the protest place and met the protesters.
Later Addressing the protesters Rajender Kumar Kataria, said that we have already written a letter to the Union government asking permission for the extraction of sand in the CRZ areas. We need some time to resolve the issue. I am ready to go along with the MLA and MPs when they visit New Delhi and will do my best to revise the CRZ order, he said.
Kataria also promised that he would his best to get the permission for the sand extraction license holders and would also try to change the union government’s order. Until then he requested the protesters to call off the protest.
On behalf of the protesters, MLA Raghupathi Bhat said, “As per the request of Rajender Kumar Kataria, state secretary for Mines we will postpone our protest till November 20. After the decision of Union and State government, we will decide on our stand and continue the protest if we do not get a positive response. We have also postponed our Udupi district Bandh which was planned on November 10”.
“Tomorrow, myself along with former MP Jayaprakash Hegde will go to New Delhi to meet the officials and try to revise the CRZ norms. If our demand will be not fullfiled by November 20 we will start our protest again,” Bhat warned.