Crackdown on sand dredging in Thane; barges, other equipment worth over Rs 1 cr destroyed

Thane: In a crackdown on illegal dredging of sand along the creek in Maharashtra's Thane, the district administration seized barges and other equipment worth more than Rs 1 crore and destroyed them, officials said on Thursday.

The revenue department carried out the operation on Tuesday at Parsik between the Mumbra-Kalwa rail bridge. The owners and operators of the dredging machines and boats could not be nabbed as they escaped after spotting the team, a release issued by the Thane tehsil office said.

Stock of sand, barges and other material collectively worth Rs 1.16 crore was seized, it said.

A case under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code has been registered at the Kalwa police against Kiran Pawal and others, an official said.