Illegal mining on Yamuna banks, govt cracks down on sand mafia

Ghaziabad: In a joint raid against sand mining mafia the mining department and Loni administration seized earthmovers, trucks, and trolleys from the Yamuna banks in Loni’s Pachera.Loni SDM Nikhil Chakravarty said that they had been receiving reports of illegal excavations being carried out in the area at night. Three teams comprising officials from the mining department, police, and administration were formed to tackle the situation, the SDM said.“At 2am on Tuesday, the teams raided Pachera village where illegal mining was being carried out. While the accused managed to flee to the other side of the river, which falls in Delhi, we seized one earthmover, two trucks, and seven trolleys full of sand from the spot,” added Chakravarty.“We contacted our Delhi counterpart, who reached the spot and assisted us in confiscating the sand and vehicles,” an official from the mining department added.A 15km stretch in Loni along the banks of the Yamuna river, which comprises Pachaira, Badarpur, and Nauraspur villages, is leased out for sand mining activities. The area where mining is legally allowed is demarcated, officials said.Currently, 48 acres of land in Pachera has been leased out for a period of 5 years. The illegal sand mining was being carried out 1.5km away from the leased site, officials said.For sustainable river sand mining, it is necessary that the mine pits formed as a result of sand excavation are refilled with sand by the natural process of replenishment within a reasonable period of time.Since deep excavations are carried out illegally at vulnerable spots along the river bank, it leaves behind deep pits. Last year, flooding from the Yamuna wreaked havoc in the Loni area, and one reason for such a situation was the deep pits left behind by the sand mafia.

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