Border vigil in Chhattisgarh to curb inter-state sand transportation

Illegal transportation of sand to the neighbouring Maharashtra state had put the authorities on alert even as the Chhattisgarh government had decided to keep a close watch on the border.

The district administration in Rajnandgaon that borders Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli region had swung into action following the report of illegal mining of sand and its transportation to the neighbouring state. The district collector, Ashok Agrawal had sought the detailed report from the mining department in this connection.

Agrawal said the administration had increased vigilance on the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border. People from many villages located on the border had complaint to the authorities about the illegal mining and the transportation of mineral to Maharashtra. Agrawal said he would be visiting the affected villages soon.

The ban on sand mining and transportation had forced the mafia to go for illegal activities. The price of a truck of sand in Chhattisgarh had reached Rs 18,000 that had provided opportunity to the illegal operators to earn profit. The district collector had decided to personally monitor the operation against the mafia.

Meanwhile, the district authorities had mooted another strategy to check the illegal transportation of minerals on the border. “Besides the driver, action would be taken against the owner also if the vehicle was caught while transporting minerals illegally,” Agrawal said, adding that five owners had faced the axe till now.

After making the owners answerable, the administration felt that it would help in checking the illegal transportation.

The state government officials said the in the other border areas including that of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha, the respective district administration had been asked to keep a close watch on the border.