Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation (TSMDC) has done a record sand sale of up to 16.89 lakh cubic metres and earned a high of ₹108.61 crore in May. The development also comes in the backdrop of construction work being drastically affected during lockdown and large scale movement of migrant labour. It shows that construction work, with online sales topping as per the department data, is slowly but surely picking up. Sand extraction is free for local use for construction of houses for weaker sections or for the low cost sanitation, said Mr. Malsur. District level sand committees were formed to decide on extraction process — manually or by machine depending on the sand bearing areas or desiltation.

Source: The Hindu June 22, 2020 15:22 UTC