Equipment worth Rs 30 lakh used in illegal sand mining destroyed in Thane

The authorities in Maharashtra's Thane district have destroyed equipment worth Rs 30 lakh that was being used to illegally dredge sand from a creek, an official said on Friday. During patrolling between the Kalyan Retibunder and Kumbharkhan Pada in Dombivli on Thursday, a team came across two barges and four suction pumps extracting sand from the creek, said tehsildar Sachin Shejal.

After being alerted, the enforcement team reached the area. Seeing them, the workers on board the barges and operating the suction pumps abandoned the equipment and fled, the official said.

"Since the two barges and four suction pumps were heavy, it was not possible to remove them from the creek basin. Therefore, the engines of the barges were filled with sugar and sand and damaged, and the barges were set on fire," said Shejal.

The team also dismantled the pumping equipment to prevent any possible reuse, he said, adding that the total cost of the equipment is about Rs 30 lakh.

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