Over Rs 1 cr fine slapped on illegal sand miners in Gaya

Gaya: In a bid to curb illegal mining, transportation, and storage of sand, teams comprising officials from the mining, transport, and police departments conducted raids on Friday evening and Saturday morning in the Mufassil, Bodh Gaya, and Paraiya police station areas.During the raids, the team seized 24 tractors and slapped penalties amounting to around Rs1.33 crore on people involved in illegal sand mining from the Falgu river.District magistrate Shashank Shubhankar said on Saturday, “During raids at Bhadeja village under Mufassil police station, penalty of Rs 1.27 crore was imposed on illegal miners, while 18 tractors were seized and Rs 18 lakh penalty was imposed on the vehicle owners. The seized tractors were brought at Mufassil police station, where FIR was lodged against vehicle owners and the miners.”He added, “Similarly, two tractors were seized from Titaiya village under Bodh Gaya police station, with a penalty of Rs3.3 lakh imposed. One tractor driver, however, managed to escape. In Paraiya police station area as well, two tractors were seized and a penalty of Rs2.2 lakh was imposed. Strict punitive action will be taken against those involved in illegal mining by getting FIRs lodged.”