Amritsar, July 29: Despite directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to check the menace, illegal sand mining continues unabated in Ajnala sub-division of the district.
The Goa construction industry can breathe a sigh of relief, as legal sand extraction is likely to start by the end of the monsoon after a prolonged drought of two years.
A few days before six members of the environment committee quit, they had made proposals to standardize guidelines for mining and quarrying, before they get environment clearance.
A woman and her three children have been staging a protest in front of the Collectorate here since July 11 demanding action against illegal extraction of beach sand from near her home at Puthiyanga
The Alirajpur district administration raided two illegal sand storage and refining plants near MP-Gujarat border on Wednesday, and seized premium quality sand bound for Mumbai and other parts of Ma
The district administration is gearing up to crack the whip on illegal sand mining, in the light of reports that the menace had led to the Malaprabha river changing its course.
The task force to curb illegal mining had found it difficult to rein in those extracting sand illegally as they had the tacit support of local politicians and the police. There have been instances of officials trying to put an end to the illegality being issued death threats.
Illegal extraction thrives under the nose of authorities; officials say they are helpless
Sand from the basins of the Bheema, Kagina, Mullamari, Bennethora, Bori and Kamalavathi rivers in the district did not command much demand in the region in the past, as these rivers flow through areas with black soil and black stones and the sand is black.
On the afternoon of 16 June, local resident Manav Bisht watched dozens of constables leaving the paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Academy, which stood between his house in Shakti Vihar, a loc
Public Works Department Minister H C Mahadevappa announced on Thursday that a new sand-mining policy will be formulated to control the growing sand mafia in the State.
Speaking to reporters here, Mahadevappa said that the new policy will be ready in the next month and a half, after a sub-committee was formed under his chairmanship.
