A weakened night patrol by the police and inactive ward-level vigilance committees have resulted in illegal sand mining on the Chaliyar river banks. The barriers erected in Mavoor grama panchayat to prevent the entry of goods carriers to river banks have been found damaged in several areas.
Local residents revealed that two unprotected stretches at Kalpally and Manathalakadavu had emerged as the most favourable spots for the illegal business in the absence of checking measures at night. Goods carriers are operating to cart off illegally collected sand till the early hours of the day, they added.
Though concrete pillars had been erected to block the entry of vehicles, they were destroyed by miscreants. Moreover, instructions from the police to the grama panchayat to protect the area from encroachments were also ignored.
Though vulnerable areas were earlier under the close surveillance of revenue squads, their efforts also lost steam midway. No flash checks were carried out at suspected spots despite complaints from the public. The proposal to appoint guards at vulnerable spots also remains to be implemented.
“At least the damaged concrete pillars should be reconstructed to resume efforts to protect the overexploited river basin. There should also be strong chains to block the entry of vehicles,” said a local river protection committee member in Mavoor panchayat. He added that night patrol by the police and flash inspections by Revenue squads should also be resumed in such a way to impound country boats and goods carriers used for the illegal business.
Meanwhile, the grama panchayat authorities said they were making serious efforts to address the issue. They also claimed that several country boats and goods carriers had been impounded from suspected spots.
