14 hours Ago By Sandip Dighe
1 2 3 Pune: The Indapur tehsil administration on Friday destroyed six boats used for illegal sand mining in the Ujani dam , bringing the total to 55 boats worth over Rs 2.5 crore seized and destroyed over the past six months. Indapur tehsildar Jeevan Bansode told TOI, "We conduct operations with the assistance of the police.
We have destroy seized boats worth several lakhs of rupees, but the operators often manage to acquire new ones and continue illegal sand extraction. They frequently operate under the cover of darkness." You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune A well-established network of sand miners has been active in the dam for the past two decades, primarily operating out of Indapur and Daund in Pune district, as well as Karmala and Madha in Solapur district, with some operators from Ahmednagar district too.
These miners typically procure boats from private firms in Mumbai and Gujarat. "This year, we intensified our drive and destroyed 55 boats. With the water level in the dam receding, the illegal activity will intensify too.
We have formed teams that will actively keep a watch on such activities in the coming weeks," the tehsildar said. Ujani Dam, one of the largest dams in the state, has a capacity of 115 TMC and shares borders with both Pune and Solapur districts. Many illegal sand mining operators fled to villages in Solapur district to avoid capture, tehsil officials said.
The operators have been aggressive in the past, with sand miners even attacking Indapur tehsildar Shrikant Patil last year when he took action against them. "Some of the old miners even carry weapons with them," an official said. The officials discovered that some of the operators also found a technique to hide boats in the dam water once they get a tip-off.
"They deliberately sink the boats by opening a section at the bottom. After a few days, they extract the boat, repair and use it again," said another official from the administration. The operation The sand mining operation involves two types of boats — suction boat and transport boat.
The suction boat is equipped with a high-horsepower engine to extract sand from the dam's bottom. The transport boat is used to carry the extracted sand to the shore, typically measuring 30-40 feet in length. The transport boats have three compartments — sand storage, storage for essentials and sleeping area.
These boats typically operate at night and hide along the dam's banks during the day to avoid detection.
