The 3-D laser survey of the mines belonging to the Associated Mining Company (AMC) - owned by former minister Janardhana Reddy - at the Ramgad forest area of Sandur taluk in Bellary district could not be undertaken on Sunday and had to be postponed to Monday, due to the scorching sun which has left the personnel fatigued.
On Sunday, they could only undertake work on marking the boundaries and finding the depth to which mining had taken place. The 3-D laser machine can scan areas in a radius of 1,400 metres and ascertain the extent of ore extracted as also the quality of the ore mined.
The 3-D survey will thus help get an idea of the extent of illegal mining that has taken place in the region.
The CBI team - led by DIG Hitendra and SP Subramanyeshwara Rao - conducted the survey at the central station area of Sandur on Sunday.
It is believed that 10 lakh metric tonnes of ore has been extracted in the mines belonging to AMC. It is said that the ore collected by AMC as hafta from other mining companies was also transported using AMC’s mining licence.
The CBI had recently taken Ali Khan, close aide of Janardhana Reddy, to the ore dumping spots at Jaisinghpura and Siddapura near AMC’s mines to collect necessary information.
DH News Service