Sand mining: Haryana to seek Noida help (Hindistan Times 15 June 2012)

We have written to the deputy commissioner,
asking him to take immediate precautions to prevent illegal sand mining
on Yamuna river belt.YA S H PA L YA D AV Faridabad SDM

FARIDABAD: The Special Task Force (STF), which visited the Yamuna river belt in the early hours of Thursday, confirmed that illegal sand mining was being carried out in the Uttar Pradesh as well as in Haryana sides of the bank.
The district administration will now write to the Noida authorities to help them stop mining on both aides of the Yamuna.
Members of district level monitoring committee constituted by Haryana government a few years ago to check illegal sand mining Yamuna in Faridabad district visited the entire river belt on Thursday.
The step assumes significance in view of the incident in which a dumper laden with sand illegally lifted from Yamuna bank mowed down a Haryana cop a few days ago near Palla Chowk here.
The team that visited Yamuna on Thursday included DCP Central Abhey Singh, SDM Faridabad Yash Pal Yadav and officers of forest, mining, excise and taxation departments, among others. They spoke to the villagers who told them how the sand mafia had gained a foothold in the Yamuna river belt.
"We have written to the deputy commissioner, asking him to take immediate precautionary measures to prevent illegal sand mining on Yamuna river belt," Yadav said, adding, that “authorities in Noida will be requested to help in stopping to illegal sand lifting on their side”.
On Monday, constable Mahavir Singh had been run over by a dumper after he tried to stop it at a police barricade near Palla Chowk. The dumper was laden with sand, mined illegally out of Yamuna, and was headed for Delhi.
This incident had alerted the district administration and Faridabad's deputy commissioner Balraj Singh had visited Yamuna belt in the early hours of Wednesday and had followed it up with a meeting of officers over the illegal sand mining issue that same evening.