Acting on the directions of Sub Collector Nihar Ranjan Kanhr, tehsil officials conducted raids and imposed fine of Rs 67,000 on a hywa and tractors that were used for illegal smuggling of sand from the Tel river.
The district Collector has also directed officials to impose penalty on the smugglers.
According to sources, sand smugglers from Rameswar ghat and Sonepur-Manamunda ghat take sand from Tel river and sell it at a premium.
On a daily basis, huge quantity of sand is smuggled using trucks and tractors to neighbouring areas. After repeated complaints by locals, the raid was conducted.
As many as three ghats of Mahanadi and Tel river are located in Sonepur tehsil while others are in Tarbha and Binka.
The lockdown may have put an end to all outdoor activities but for sand mafia of the district, it is business as usual. Despite the restrictions, illegal lifting of sand from beds of different rivers continues unabated right under the nose of the district administration.
In violation of lockdown guidelines, tractors, JCB machines, pumps and trucks have been pressed into service by the mafia to lift sand from Mahanadi, Tel and Suktel rivers flowing through the district.
Now the local mafia is back in business while the administration is busy fighting Covid-19.
Among others, Sonepur Tehsildar Nabin Kishore Padhi,Additional Tehsildar Pramod Kumar Meher and Revenue Inspector Sudhir Kumar Pandia were present.