Bhubaneswar: In a significant action against the sand mafia, the Ganjam district administration conducted a surprise raid on illegal sand extraction from the Rushikulya river near Mahachai village under Kavisuryanagar police station limits in Purushottampur block.
Acting on specific intelligence, a joint team comprising the Purushottampur Tehsildar, Mining Officer, and Kavisuryanagar police raided the sand ghat early on Sunday. They found 13 tractors actively loading illegally extracted sand from the riverbed.
On spotting the team, the sand smugglers fled the spot, abandoning the vehicles. The administration seized all 13 tractors and issued legal notices to the vehicle owners.
To prevent further illegal mining, Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was invoked at the ghat and a red flag was hoisted as a warning.
