Stone crusher caught transporting mining materials in Bageshwar

Bageshwar: A stone crusher in Golana village, Kapkot block, Bageshwar, was allegedly found transporting mining materials without proper documentation, violating Uttarakhand high court (HC) orders banning mining activities in the district. Large quantities of materials were allegedly being transported "unchecked" despite the ban and the closure of the e-Ravanna portal — a system designed to streamline royalty collection and regulate the transport of mined materials, officials said on Tuesday.District mining officer Nazia Hassan said on Tuesday that the court commissioner conducted an inspection at the crusher site on Sunday. "CCTV footage from the stone crusher premises captured evidence of illegal sales. Acting on this, both the crushing unit and its storage facility were sealed," she said.Station officer (SO) Kapkot, Khushwant Singh, said a case was registered on Monday night against the owner, Naveen Parihar, under multiple sections of the BNS: 223(a), 318(4), 336(3), 338 and 340(2).Meanwhile, social activist Gopal Vanvasi strongly criticised the lack of enforcement by local authorities. He raised concerns over mining operators openly flouting HC orders without fear of repercussions."Trucks were transporting materials without e-Ravanna, passing through check posts without any action from the police or forest department. If the court commissioner's team had not visited the site, this illegal activity might never have been exposed. This raises serious questions about the role of enforcement agencies in curbing illegal mining," Vanvasi said. Officials said an investigation is underway to determine how the trucks managed to pass through check posts without being intercepted.Complaints about irregularities in soapstone mining in the district had persisted for a long time. In Sept 2024, the HC took suo motu cognisance of the issue and appointed court commissioners to investigate. Based on their report, the court imposed a district-wide mining ban and ordered the seizure of all heavy machinery used in mining operations.