Valsad: As many as 600 villagers of 11 villages, including sarpanches, political leaders, and women laid siege to the Valsad district collectorate on Tuesday again to continue with their efforts to draw attention of the authorities to the issue of the sea water finding its way into their homes.

The villagers from the 11 villages had a month ago submitted a memorandum to the district collector of Valsad demanding action against reckless and illegal sand minding to check this problem of sea water seeping into villagers’ homes but authorities are not paying heed.

The problem is so serious that currently about 100-150 acres of land in block nos 1966, 1967, 1968, 1964 has been washed away by the sea.

This illegal sand-mining happens in Valsad taluka and the sand is sold at Dholai village of Gandevi taluka. The memorandum had drawn attention to the fact that on one hand the government is spending crores of rupees on constructing a protection wall whereas on the other hand it is condoning the reckless sand-mining activities by mafias.

Such contradictory policies are posing a threat to the very existence of thousands of people in as many as 15 to 20 villages.

DeshGujarat