Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
A total of 48 illegal sand mining fields have been found along the Xiangjiang River within Wangcheng County, in China’s Hunan province, turning this key flood prevention battlefield into a money spinner for sandstone raiders, Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported on Thursday.
It is said Wangcheng County has a 39 regular sand mining fields, of which 27 fields are licensed. There are 12 illegal regular sand mining fields and 36 temporary sand mining docks set along the bulkhead line of Xiangjiang River in Wangcheng County about 35 km long.
In some parts of the county, two large-scale sand mining fields can be seen every 100 meters without having to register any formalities. Another 40 sand mining boats without any certificates have also been found operating along the river…