Projects affected as truck owners stop sand supply

The city’s ongoing infrastructure projects may be hit as trucks carrying thousands of tonnes of sand have not entered the city in the past six days.

The association of truck owners has declared that unless their demand is met, they will not supply sand to the projects.

Around four thousand trucks loaded with sand have been stranded at areas near Dahisar check naka.

Sharad Nayak, president of the Mumbai Reti Vahtuk Seva Sangh, the truck owners association, alleged that for the past one-and-a-half month, officials of the state revenue department have collected fines to the tune of Rs3 crore from the truckers.

“Some of the sand merchants have been illegally using suction pumps to dig out sand, but we have been penalised for it. We just pick up sand from the Vaitarna river and transport it?” he said. The truckers want a stop to this, he added. 

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials are worried. “We are indeed facing an acute shortage of sand. We have deadlines to meet,” said a top official.

Though the demand of the truck owners’ association has reached the Thane district collector and some local revenue department officials, Nayak said he will be meeting top revenue officials in the near future. “I hope our issue is taken seriously and it is resolved soon,” said Nayak.