In a bid to protect the district from further erosion by the Siang River, the East Siang administration has issued an order to stop all stone crusher units and illegal collection of minor minerals in the district with immediate effect.
After public complaints regarding the reckless running of stone crusher units and collection of minor minerals in the region, the State Secretary Of Mines and Minerals and Disaster Management had on November 4 visited the site and found that even the licensed stone crusher units had been recklessly mining minor minerals such as boulders, sand gravel and sand beyond the permitted and notified mining quarry areas in the district.
While issuing the order, Deputy Commissioner Tamiyo Tatak stated that normal monsoon floods and repeated flash floods of Siang River, including those created by the landslide-induced blockage of Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet upstream, there is every likelihood of erosion of the riverbanks. Illegal mining of minor minerals thus makes the areas along the river and the district beyond more vulnerable, threatening human lives and habitations, he said.
“For the greater interest of the safety and of life and property from frequent floods and flash floods in the district, it is expedient to prohibit illegal mining and establishment of illegal stone crushers units in the district as a whole with immediate effect,” Taga said.