Senior Geologist Pushpalatha Kavalur confirmed the incident, stating that they are still gathering information and identifying those involved and appropriate action will be initiated.
Koppal
Illegal sand mining continues unabated in Hirehalla, a tributary of the Tungabhadra River, despite repeated enforcement efforts. On Friday, officials raided Hire Sindogi village—the same location targeted two months ago—seizing heavy machinery, boats, and large stockpiles of sand.
A major crackdown on June 20 involved officers from the Mines and Geology department, RTO, police, forest, and revenue departments to tackle illegal operations at the site. The raid was triggered by social media footage showing alleged sand mafia members, including associates of a local MLA, openly flaunting their control over sand extraction. The clip, which used audio from the film Pushpa, appeared to mock district authorities.
During the June operation, the collaborative effort with the taluk sand monitoring committee led to the confiscation of 3,000 metric tonnes of sand worth Rs 2.4 lakh and over 50 boats. However, the absence of earthmovers and excavators raised concerns that insiders may have tipped off the sand mafia. A similar raid on August 5, led by Pushpalatha Kavalur, Senior Geologist and member-secretary of the district sand monitoring committee, resulted in the seizure of numerous boats, an excavator, and other equipment, along with illegally stored sand on the riverbed.
Authorities stress that exploitation of natural resources must be taken seriously, and stringent action should be enforced against culprits to prevent recurrence of such illegal activities.
