NTR Police Form Special Teams, Set up 17 Checkposts to Curb Illegal Sand Smuggling

Vijayawada: The NTR district police have formed special teams consisting of task force, special branch, and law and order police personnel to combat the illegal sand smuggling mafia in the district.

Following complaints of middlemen creating artificial scarcity and selling sand at inflated prices, as well as the illegal transportation of sand to neighbouring states from stockyards in the district, NTR District Commissioner of Police (CP) SV Raja Sekhara Babu ordered enhanced vigilance at the sand stockyards using drone cameras.

The CP further ordered the establishment of 17 new checkposts with CCTV surveillance specifically to curb the illegal transportation of sand from the stockyards in the district. The department has integrated the drone cameras and CCTV cameras installed at the sand stockyards and checkposts with the command control centre for 24/7 monitoring. Additionally, the GPS-linked vehicles used for sand delivery have also been integrated with the command control centre.

Raja Sekhara Babu stated that the department had formed special police teams and was utilising advanced technology, such as drones and CCTV cameras, to ensure that people could obtain sand at affordable rates under the state government’s free sand policy.

The CP reported that the police had registered a total of 100 cases, arrested 195 individuals, and seized 2,125 tonnes of sand along with 150 vehicles involved in the illegal smuggling of sand in the district over the past three months. The department also imposed a fine of Rs 2.18 lakh on the violators involved in illegal sand smuggling and issued notices to tractor and JCB owners.

Raja Sekhara Babu mentioned that the department was conducting auto canvassing in all villages and deploying drones to patrol sand stockyards to identify sand dumps and track the movement of sand tractors. He further instructed the special police teams to take stern action against individuals holding sand illegally and those involved in the unlawful transportation of sand.