Illegal beach sand mining. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care.
“Sand is the second most consumed natural resource, after water. The construction-building industry is by far the largest consumer of this finite resource. The traditional building of one average-sized house requires 200 tons of sand; a hospital requires 3,000 tons of sand; each kilometer of highway built requires 30,000 tons of sand… A nuclear plant, a staggering 12 million tons of sand…” Captions by “Sand Wars” Award-Winning Filmmaker: © Denis Delestrac (2013).
Excerpts;
Cashing in on scarcity and the high price of river sand in the open market, illegal sand-mining gangs have turned their attention to the coastal areas of Kozhikode, the second largest city and urban agglomeration in Kerala State.
Illegal sand-mining gangs dig up salty sand, and supply it to the construction industry. Though civil engineers attest that sea sand is highly unhealthy for the construction of buildings, the collected stock is distributed among the clients without specifying the source…
Tragedy of The Commons: Corrosive Growth of the Illegal Sand Mining Mafia, The Citizen (01-04-2016)
Not many people may know that illegal sand mining is a nationwide phenomena in India, and with spurt in housing and infrastructure projects, the illegal sand mining is thriving beyond the ambit of formal economy and law and order. Sand is everywhere and so is the sand mafia…
India’s ‘New Cities’ Plan: Environment Not Included, Aljazeera (03-06-2015)
Sand – inexpensive and abundant – is a treasure to India’s builders and the construction industry, which employs some 40 million people. But the spike in construction means sand mining, both legal and illegal, will increase in coastal areas, riverbeds, creeks, and rivulets…
Illegal Sand Mining is New Gold Rush in India, Gulf News (07-23-2013)
People on Coastline Suffering Due to Sand Mining, India; a NEWS X LIVE Video (08-19-2013)
Disappearing Beaches of India, The Hindu (06-06-2015)
The Deadly Global War for Sand, WIRED (03-26-2015)
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Award-Winning Filmmaker Denis Delestrac (2013)
