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Sand Mining Threatens Safety of Yangtze River
Illegal sand mining activities are threatening the safety of the Yangtze River, the longest river in China.
A local official said here Friday that sand mining is now prohibited on the riverbed to prevent flooding and for shipping safety, but such illegal activities are still rampant along the river.
More than 20 sand mining boats were found recently at the site neighboring Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, which first imposed the ban on sand mining.
The loading capacity of each boat was over 60 tons, the official said, and if all the boats were loaded, the riverbed would have been emptied a total of 150 cubic meters.
If these illegal practices were to continue, shipping and dike safety would be severely threatened, and shipping accidents and incidence of dike-breaking would increase on the river, he said.
Illegal sand mining started in late 1980s. The sand miners selected the Yangtze River as a bountiful resource of good-quality sand grit, and it has been excessively plundered in recent years.
As an important component of the riverbed, sand grit is of great significance for maintaining the river conditions, the official said.
He called for joint efforts with related departments in the provinces to carry out the ban. At the same time, more investment should be put into the supervision and prevention campaigns on illegal sand mining.
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