Dibrugarh: Three excavators were seized from an illegal coal mining site at Namdang along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in a raid on Sunday.
The raid was conducted by the Changlang district police in Arunachal Pradesh, after receiving specific information about the illegal mining operation.
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The location of the mining site is under the jurisdiction of the Lekhapani forest range in Margherita sub division of Tinsukia district. The seized excavators have been handed over to the authorities in Assam for further investigation and legal action.
This is not the first time that illegal coal mining has been reported in the area. In fact, there have been allegations of illegal mining in the area for quite some time now. An FIR has been filed in this regard and an investigation is underway.
Sources say that illegal coal mining has been rampant in the area and the smugglers have been operating the whole operation with impunity.
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“The coal smugglers are destroying the Patkai mountain. Illegal extraction of coal has now become a toy game for the smugglers. On the other hand, the authorities, after knowing everything, are turning a blind eye to the incidents,” said a source.
The source also alleged that the coal smugglers are very powerful because they have their own security and have political connections. Insurgent groups are also allegedly involved with them and together they are operating the illegal coal mining business.