Thane | Jan 06, 2016: The district revenue department officials cracked down on sand mafias operating in the city on Tuesday and seized sand worth over Rs 67 lakh. This was the third largest day-long raid carried out across Thane. No arrests have been made.
A police squad and civic officials, under the instructions of district collector Ashwini Joshi, conducted raids at Kasheli, Alimghar, Mumbra, Kausa, Dombivli and Kalyan water bodies and cracked down on the illegal sand mining activities taking place there. The also confiscated 19 suction pumps, cranes, dumpers, trucks and boats.
A few months ago, the officials had carried out similar raids during which they had confiscated sand and machinery worth Rs 10 crore and Rs 12 crore, respectively.
"These illegal activities take place in areas that are far off from the main city. So many a times it goes unreported. The locals do not report these activities either because they are too scared to do so or because they have been bribed. It is only during these surprise raids that we catch these offenders. Such action can be taken more often if the department is tipped off. The last few major crackdowns have seen a decline in the magnitude of the illegal sand mining," said an official at the district information office.
The drive commenced during the wee hours of Tuesday and went on till evening.
The officials cordoned off the shore with a heavy posse of police personnel while the revenue official, conducting raids simultaneously in the different locations across the city.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)