A special police force comprising 31 police personnel, which was deployed about a fortnight ago to guard the Chakki riverbed in the lower Kangra district to check illegal mining, has been withdrawn.

The force was deployed at seven places to keep a round-the-clock vigil on illegal mining in the riverbed. Though following the directions of the high court the police had set up two chowkis at Kandwal and Tika Pail in March 2010, it seemed ‘ineffective’ to check the menace. The sudden withdrawal had evoked a sharp reaction from environmentalists in the area.