Bantwal : Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, A.B.Ibrahim, had order removing of silt from the Thumbay vented dam. Instead the sand mafia indulged in lifting sand from the dam and transported it. Because of deposits of the silt, in Thumbe dam, the water level in the dam looks higher. This news came to the knowledge of deputy commissioner, he gave a surprise visit to the dam site early morning on Monday, May 9.

The present water level stand at 4.6 feet, at the dam and it is observed, that silt might be 3 feet deep. On May 5th the deputy commissioner in the meeting related to drinking water held in Mangaluru as a measure to make sure the water level at the Thumbe dam, had asked that the silt from the dam and on the concrete lid covering the well in the river be removed urgently.

Realising that the scarcity of drinking water will increase, if the silt removing work is delayed, the deputy commissioner, came for inspection on Monday. However he was shocked to see, that those who were entrusted to remove the silt had only collected sand, heaped it up in the pump house premises and were seen loading it in the lorries. The two machines engaged, in the river were only removing sand instead of silt. Apartment from that, three JCBs, five tipper lorries and two lorries loaded with sand were also found.

The DC, looking at those developments was so annoyed that he said, “I Shall I take legal action against you when these things are happening in your presence”, he asked, taking the pump house assistant engineer to task, whether he is allowing illegal sand mining when the people are crying for water. DC ordered, sand mining the machines to stop work immediately and the JCBs and Hitachi machines out premises of the pump house. He warned that not a grain of sand should go out of the pump house and warned officials, that he will take legal action.

Zilla panchayat member Chandraprakash Shetty tried to give a contrary fact and said that the sand was removed to increase the depth as the water in the well got polluted and changed colour while removing silt.