Kathmandu, January 20:

Khadga Bahadur Tamang mines sand from the Manohara river day in, day out.

“I don’t have any other job. I earn enough from this job,” he says.

Many people like Khadga Bahadur mine sand from rivers in the Kathmandu valley and ferry it to places to eke out a living. The government-imposed ban on sand-mining from the rivers of Kathmandu has failed to deter people like Khadga.

The Ministry of Local Development imposed a ban on sand-mining from rivers of Kathmandu in 2052 BS. It has prohibited Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu DDCs from mining sand from rivers of the Kathmandu valley.

Earlier, three DDCs used to let contractors mine sand by charging certain amount. Sand-mining from the rivers of the Kathmandu valley has been officially “banned”. Despite the ban, sand-mining has been going on.

“We have banned sand-mining in rivers, but a licensed contractor can easily mine sand from other sand mines,” Krishna Bahadur Shahi, the Assistant CDO of Bhaktapur, says.

Teams from the Bhaktapur District Administration Office visit the rivers frequently to check if sand-mining is going on. They say they have not caught anybody in the act. “In case of complaints from public, we, with the help of the metropolitan police, immediately punish those who are found guilty,” Shahi says.

The CDO office had issued a notice, saying that those who are found loading sand in trucks will be fined. The Bhaktapur Local Development Office said it has formed a committee to check sand-smuggling.

The Metropolitan Police Range, which has been given the task of controlling sand-smuggling, has been helpless. “We have been given the task of controlling sand-smuggling, but we are helpless. We have not been given facilities like vehicles, which without which we cannot conduct patrols,” Bhakti Nath Majhi, an SP, says. According to Umesh KC, a resident of Imadol, a village near the Manohara river, contractors, who have good relations with police, employ labourers to carry sand. “Police and contractors share the bounty fifty-fifty.”

A contractor, Sita Lama (name changed), says, “We earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 20, 000 every day. The person who carries sand earns Rs 500 to Rs 700 every day.”

Says Parsu Ram Kattyal, president, Shivanagar Area Improvement Committee, “Police do not take action against those responsible even when sand-mining goes on in broad daylight.”

According to people living near the Manohara river, “Policemen in civil dress take money from contractors. That is why sand-smuggling has been going unabated.”

SP at the Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu, Dhak Bahadur Karki, says “action will be taken against those police officers if they are caught red-handed.”

“Locals are also protecting “sand-robbers” because they belong to the same society. We need a huge task force to deal with the sand-robbers.”