2 sand reaches auctioned

VIJAYAWADA: Five sand reaches in Krishna district have been auctioned for a total of Rs 23.18 crore.Joint collector Gaurav Uppal who conducted the auction of Damuluru, Madduru and Vallurupalem sand reaches on Friday, auctioned Gani Athukuru and Sanagapadu reaches on Saturday. The auction of Damuluru,  (Rs 1.09 cr), Madduru (`75 lakh) and Vallurupalem (`70 lakh) sand reaches fetched the government a total revenue of Rs 2.54 crore. Gani Athukuru sand reach was auctioned for Rs 2.65 crore, while the auction of Sanagapadu reach fetched Rs 17.99 crore.The joint collector asked the successful bidders to deposit one fourth of the bid amount within 48 hours. The sand reach will be allotted to the second highest bidder if the successful bidder failed to deposit the money within stipulated time. The boundaries of every sand reach have been clearly demarcated to prevent illegal mining, he said. Deputy director of mining D Subrahmanyam, assistant directors V Koteswara Raju and YS Babu and assistant director of vigilance K Venkatarao also took part in the conduct of auctions.