The Govt. of Tamil Nadu has announced that 70 new sand quarries would be inaugurated very soon in order to address the growing issue of deficit of sand for construction and other purposes.

For the past few months, the State has been facing huge deficits of sand, forcing builders to undergo tense moments.  Sand exported by the State to other States has also come down drastically in the past few months. A meeting headed by chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami was held at the State Secretariat yesterday specifically to address this issue.

High-ranking officials of the concerned Departments as well as 8 District Collectors and 5 Superintendents of Police took part in the meeting which decided as a first step to inaugurate 70 new sand quarries at select locations across the State to address the issue of shortage in sand.

In the meantime, a few environment activists have vehemently opposed the State Govt.’s decision to set up sand quarries.