20 units of illegally mined sand near Ambur seized

Mounds of mined sand in Machampattu village on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

More than 20 units of river sand that was illegally mined from the dry Malattaru River was found at Machampattu village on Wednesday.

Revenue officials said that based on information from farmer and social activist J. Paranthaman, a team of revenue officials and the police inspected a private open land near the river, where huge quantities of river sand were stored in the open.

“Based on preliminary assessment, we have found over 20 units of river sand illegally kept in the private land. We have sealed the premises for further inspection by the Water Resources Department (WRD) team, for public auction of the seized sand,” S. Devi, Tasildar (Pernambut), told The Hindu.