COUPLE OF days ago 17 trucks were burried in Painganga river at Kavatha Bajar tq Arni, Yeotmal. See the picture below it tells a shocking story not of the trucks but of of the sand and river ecosystem. This news made the headline.

 

What does the sand mining mean to the already heartbroken farmers and their livelyhood in Yeotmal area? Vidharbha has seen one of the highest farmers suisidal rate in Yeotmal. Yeotmal Khanikarma department has legalised the 24 mining sights in Yeotmal district alone. These sand mining are allowed on Painganga, Aurnavati and Addan river. 
 
How then the government is providing a check on these mining sites? It seems that there is no government check at all –

1.      Is the government transport department providing check on what is being really transported? Upto what quantity? How much sand is allowed to be carried in a truck? Are these trucks allowed to spill the sand in the nearby farm as they carry sand? Are they carrying other minerals other than sand?
 
2.      Is the Khanikarma department checking if the mining is carried out as requested without violation? Are they mining within the given limit by the government or are they violating this limit? Are they mining for sand alone or something else?
 
3.      Are there more sites than the allowed 24 sites? For example we learned that the sand mining in Yeotmal dist. Arni Taluka at Mukindpur in survey # 7/2 is illegal. It has been going on for last three months plus till now. How is it happening? Were the authorities sleeping in day light while sand theft and its mining and its transportation was carried out in heavy quantity?
 
4.      Can the sand mafia come and dig your land while you are away on businesss and without your permission? The answer is yes. For example the survey number 7/2 in Mukindpur tq Arni was subjected to such thing. At this mukindpur site, in the survey 7/2 along its side of Painganga river a 100ft long and around 35ft deep tunnel was built through the farm to transport the sand without the farm owners permission. 
 
Many people visited the Kavatha Bajar tq Arni sand mining sight in the last couple of days ago to see the 17 trucks deeply burried in Painganga river.   It is a shocking sight and raises many questions. Who has the contract for this site? Is this mined according to Government limits? Or does it violate the Government given limits. 
Government has given a legal sand mining permissions to Mr Pradip Kaniram Jadhav of Pusad for Kavatha Bajar with 0.20HR area for sand mining. Kavatha bajar has expected sand storage of 283 brass roughly. However it is questionable if the government has provided a check on this also. It is general knowledge that from Kavatha bazar around 80 trucks filled above the rim transported the sand on daily basis. This traffic began in April and continues until now. Meaning more quantity was transported than the government legal limit. It is also evident that the 17 trucks burried (evidence #1: picture) in Painganga river at Kavatha bazar tell a different story. Story that more than 0.20HR area was used to mine the sand. Thus it appears that the Kavatha bajar has severely violated the Government set limit. 
 
Are there any other sites in Yeotmal where such theft of natural resources taking place in day light? Mukinpur is clearly an example of such theft and Kavatha bazar sight seems to be abused beyond the limits.
 
Recently 17 trucks were stucked in the Painganga river at kavatha bazar sand mining, showing the violation of mining limit.  
 
Government has clearly failed to provide the proper check on the legal sand mining sights and to take proper actions against these perpetrator.