Siliguri, 07th March: The issue of illegal sand mining being conducted in Siliguri’s Mahananda River has come to light. It has been alleged that sand is being extracted illegally in around 250 to 300 vehicles, every day, from the Kamrangaguri Kali Mandir Ghat under Fulbari-1 Gram Panchayat.
A local trader, Noor Ali, stated that he had government permission to extract the sand from the river. However, the government permission was revoked for not completing the paperwork during the renewal of the same. Since then, some local traders have been illegally mining the sand from the river. Ali further stated that despite complaining the matter to the administrative authorities, no heed was paid.
Meanwhile, Namita Karati, the Fulbari-1 Gram Panchayat Pradhan, stated that she has no idea about which party members were involved in the matter. However, due to repeated complaints, in this regard, letters have been sent to the Jalpaiguri District Magistrate, Land Revenue Department officials, New Jalpaiguri Police and Minister Goutam Deb to look into the matter.