The resumption of sand mining at all the sanctioned ghats in Bihar from October 1 would provide much-needed relief to those who have been affected by the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), according to Janak Ram, Minister of Mines and Geology.
Sand would be available at government-determined rates, he added. From July 1 to September 30, sand mining is prohibited in Bihar for three months. The minister told the media that the department was planning to use drone cameras to monitor the mining ghats, but that permission from the government had not yet been granted. He further added that the plan is to keep an eye on the illegal activities of sand mafias in districts such as Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Patna, Rohtas, and Saran. Earlier, during a review meeting a few days ago, chief minister Nitish Kumar asked the concerned authorities to check illegal mining. He had previously stated that officials with ties to the mining mafias would face severe consequences. The Economic Offenses Unit recently launched an investigation into 41 officials, including two IPS officers, for alleged ties to the sand mafia. The Sone, Ganga, Gandak, Falgu, Kamla Balan, Kosi, and Parman rivers' sand was usually mined, according to the media. Meanwhile, attacks on police officers have become more common in recent years. On September 7, a police team from the Rampur police station in Gaya district were attacked by the members of the illegal sand mafia. Naurangi Mistri, a member of the home guard, was shot and injured. On the same day, over 100 miscreants attacked a team of district police in Saran, injuring several officers. On September 1, sand mafia members assaulted a joint team of the district police and the mining department in Banka district. According to the police, a constable was seriously injured during the attack. Image SourceAlso read: Sand mining: CEC slams Rajasthan govt
