Banaskantha: The Banaskantha geology department undertook a drone survey to blow the lid off an illegal sand mining racket going on in the river bed of Banas river at Kuntap village of Deesa and impounded goods and equipment worth Rs 1.6 crore.

The confiscated items include one Hitachi machine, two dumpers filled with ordinary sand, two tractors and four empty dumpers. The department has begun the process of recovering Rs 10 lakh as a penalty from the offenders.

According to geologist Subhash Joshi, illegal miners now conduct a recce of government vehicles because of which we have begun conducting surveillance using drones. A case of illegal mining was discovered in Nani Akhol Village with the help of a drone. DeshGujarat.