Udupi: The Tulunadu Rakshana Vedike staged a protest against the ban on sand extraction in front of the Clock Tower here on Friday.

President of the Vedike, Ikalbawa Chittaranjandas Hegde, said that the ban directly as well as indirectly affected lakhs of workers associated with it. Livelihood of the workers in construction and related industries like transport and road development are badly affected. All works associated with it has stopped completely in the district.

“The migrant workers are returning to their native as they don’t have any job left for them here and this has created shortage of workers in the district”, he said and added that these issues are adversely effecting the development of the district.

He then went on to blame the officials and the political leaders and said that it was a tragedy that they are least bothered about the issue.

He demanded that the administration should lift the ban at the earliest or else the protest will be organized soon. “It’s high time that we look into the struggling life of the labourers, he added.