South Goa sand transporters hold emergency meet with KRSEA
Loaded ship leaves Karwar port
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CANACONA, JULY 12
South Goa Sand Transporters Association (SGSTA) on Sunday convened an emergency meeting with their Karwar counterparts Kali River Sand Extraction Association (KRSEA) even as one ship loaded with 2,000 tonnes of sand has already left Karwar port on Sunday morning.
According to sources at Karwar, a ship has already left Karwar port with sand to some foreign country, after two and half days of sand-loading exercise, which in fact has begun some three days ago.
Sources further said that the sand accumulation process at Karwar port from Kali riverbanks has also begun two days ago, as sand tippers helped by cranes raised a sand mountain in the dockyard.
Workers are reportedly seen engaged in filling some latest acquired one tonne bags with sand on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, worried SGSTA executive members convened an emergency meeting with KRSEA on Goan soil.
Various aspects of the likely effect on sand transporters from Goa arising out of latest developments of exporting sand and the reported demand of Rs 25,000 as deposit against each sand-carrying vehicle were discussed at the meeting.
As if a matter of first dole to Karwar counterparts, Goan sand transporters from Monday will pay an increased rate of Rs 185 per cubic metre of sand as against Rs 175, confirmed a source.
SGSTA President Franco Pereira informed that the increase in rates from Monday was in accordance with the agreement what SGSTA and KRSEA had signed during the last week.
According, to sources, the demand for Karwar sand in international market has almost blinded the pulling force of Karwar against Goan transporters.
According to Pereira, KRSEA office bearers who are also sand plot owners are made to understand that asking for Rs 25,000 as deposit is unjustifiable and unethical at this stage and hence no vehicle will be paying for deposits as asked by the plot owners.
SGSTA reportedly assured KRSEA that in future they could consider suitable enhancement in rates.
However, unconfirmed sources implied that Karwar plot owners are divided and have difference of opinions. Some favour in stopping the business with interstate transporters, while others are thinking of totally stopping or hurting Goan sand transporters is not at all worth risk taking, as any unimaginative developments on its export front in future could spell a doom to their flourished business.
Questions are also raised in some quarters whether natural resources like sand can be allowed to be exported in the same manner like minerals and whether government has issued such permissions taking into account the local/national requirements.
It was reportedly learnt that some efforts are being made to hide the actual destination of the shipped sand with unconfirmed different and frequently changing versions pouring in from different angles.
Changing the earlier destination place as an African country, South Africa to be precise, Malaysia, an unidentified source informed that the sand-loaded ship, which left Karwar port, was heading for China.
Another source said it was heading for Lakshadweep, in which case it cannot be called as exports, as Lakshadweep is part of our country.
