Porcelain machine seized at Indora

Our Correspondent

Nurpur, November 22

The Indora police, on a complaint by environmentalist Prem Kumar, confiscated a porcelain machine engaged in illegal mining on the Beas riverbed today.

The porcelain driver reportedly fled with a tipper, leaving behind the machine. The porcelain belongs to a stone crusher owner, who was fined Rs 2 lakh by the local mining authorities last year.

According to Nurpur DSP Surinder Sharma, a case has been registered against porcelain driver Balwinder Singh, a resident of Ghiala village in Pathankot, under Section 379 of the IPC for stealing minerals from the river and the Mines and Minerals Act.

Excavation machines are reportedly brought to the Beas at night for illegal mining but the authorities concerned have not been able to check the menace. Resentment is brewing among local farmers and environmentalists against rampant illegal mining in rivulets in Nurpur and Indora subdivisions. The underground water resources in the area also depleting.