A weakened night patrol by the police and inactive ward-level vigilance committees have resulted in illegal sand mining on the Chaliyar river banks. The barriers erected in Mavoor grama panchayat to prevent the entry of goods carriers to river banks have been found damaged in several areas.
Local residents revealed that two unprotected stretches at Kalpally and Manathalakadavu had emerged as the most favourable spots for the illegal business in the absence of checking measures at night. Goods carriers are operating to cart off illegally collected sand till the early hours of the day, they added.
Though concrete pillars had been erected to block the entry of vehicles, they were destroyed by miscreants. Moreover, instructions from the police to the grama panchayat to protect the area from encroachments were also ignored.
