In a major crackdown on illegal sand extraction, the Mysuru district police, along with officials of various departments, on Thursday busted a sand extraction camp along the Kapila at Suttur Town, about 28 kms from here.
Forty iron boats used in the illegal extraction were seized during the raid, amidst stiff resistance from residents of the town, who also complained that the police caned them.
Describing the seizure as the “biggest” in recent times, Superintendent of Mysuru district police Abhinav Khare said the authorities had a tough time facing the protest staged by residents.
However, no arrests had been made so far, he said. But, the iron boats used in sand extraction were crushed by earthmovers.
Assistant Commissioner Syeda Ayesha, who led a team from the Revenue Department, said they arrived at the spot early on Thursday after receiving a complaint that the bridge leading to Suttur Srikshethra, was facing a threat on account of the indiscriminate illegal sand extraction from the Kapila.
On finding sand extraction equipment on the banks of the river near the bridge, the team alerted the police.
“The police immediately responded to our call and managed to seize 40 iron boats,” Ms. Ayesha said. “There is a threat to the bridge if sand continues to be extracted. It has exposed the pillars on which the bridge stands,” she said.
Mr. Khare said the Kapila riverbed near Suttur was among the known spots for sand extraction.
“It used to be a legal sand extraction block a couple of months ago. But, the licence had expired. It is illegal to extract sand without licence,” he said.
The government has not renewed any sand extraction licence in the region in the last several months in view of the Supreme Court ban on in-stream mining.
“So, any sand extraction activity in the region is illegal. We seized several truckloads of sand in the last few months. The sand is auctioned,” he said.
However, illegal sand extraction continues unabated along the Cauvery and its tributaries to meet the growing demand for sand, which is used in construction activity in Mysuru.
