Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti on Tuesday urged the environment ministry to check the ongoing unauthorised mining activities on river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district.
In the letter sent to union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate change Prakash Javadekar, Bharti urged him to send a joint team of the two ministries to inquire into unauthorized mining activities in the river in Bijnor, a government statement said.
The letter says the mining activities have led to change in river hydrology, resulting in soil erosion as well as impinging upon the conservation of endangered aquatic species.
Earlier, a delegation led by Kunwar Bharatendra Singh, member, Lok Sabha, from Bijnor called on Bharti and submitted to her a detailed memorandum seeking her immediate intervention to stop unauthorized mining activities in the river.
According to the memorandum, the illegal sand mining would have an adverse impact on the flow of the river and its flora and fauna.
