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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sand mining causes Yamuna to shift 500m east, threaten Noida -Vandana Keelor

Sand mining causes Yamuna to shift 500m east, threaten Noida -Vandana Keelor

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published Published on Aug 10, 2013   modified Modified on Aug 10, 2013
-The Times of India


NOIDA: The sand mafia, against which suspended IAS officer Durga Nagpal had started a campaign, has been responsible for the Yamuna shifting course about 500 metres east, posing a threat to sectors 150, 151, 153, 135, 167 and 168 of Noida.

Irrigation department officials here say they have repeatedly warned the district administration about this and also filed several FIRs with the police, the last one in March 2013, but no action has been taken because of the alleged clout of the illegal sand miners.

In a letter dated April 24, 2013, the Ghaziabad executive engineer wrote to the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar reminding him to take action against the 55 named offenders in the FIRs registered with the Kasna police station on March 30, 2013.

The communication, with copies to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sadar - which happened to be Durga Nagpal - and to the senior superintendent of police of the district, drew attention to the possibility of vast and rapid flooding if steps were not taken to check illegal mining. Deep mining, it said, was drawing river water towards it.

"In Kambakshpur, the mining taking place is about 15 to 20 feet deep and is going on within 30 meters of the flood embankment. In 2011 at this spot, flood waters had moved nearly 500 meters towards the embankment. Illegal mining here is most acute and there is genuine fear that the embankment may collapse if steps are not taken to stop the illegal activity," the letter said.

It said that for the past three years, the irrigation department has been bringing the dangers posed by illegal mining to the administration's notice, but to no avail. "Several FIRs have been registered against known illegal miners but the police have taken no subsequent steps to bring the offenders to book... mining activity continues unabated during the night and day," the letter added.

In a grim reminder of the recent Uttarakhand tragedy, the officials warned that illegal sand mining was creating a disaster waiting to happen. In GB Nagar, the sand mining mafia controls nearly 60 sq km of the floodplains along the Yamuna river, from Okhla Barrage up to Gharbara village in Greater Noida.

Officials said that this June's rise of the Yamuna had damaged the river bank near sector 168 in Noida. The most sensitive spots identified are Kambakshpur, Tilwara, Jhuppa, Belakala and Gulavali. The affected sectors are 150, 151, 153, 135, 168 and 167.

The irrigation department has now proposed to set up stone studs and stone dampeners along the stretch of the Yamuna to check any shifting of the river towards GB Nagar. According to sources, the UP irrigation department has filed nearly 80 FIRs in the past few years, including 20 last year against illegal sand miners.

Officials said that it was the responsibility of the police and administration to stop illegal mining and alleged that they were under pressure from political bosses with vested interests to shelter the mafia. Sources said that even officials tipped off the minister about impending raids and worse, the mafia was back in business immediately after. Nearly two and a half months ago, a villager reportedly informed the station house officer of Kasna police station that illegal sand dredgers (poplane machinery) had been fixed on the river bed. The policeman's response: "I cannot do anything about it."


The Times of India, 10 August, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Sand-mining-causes-Yamuna-to-shift-500m-east-threaten-Noida/articleshow/21737474.cms


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