The placid Bhavani river shimmers under the morning skies at Servarayanpalayam village near Bhavani town. As the village women trickle in to the weed-ridden banks of Bhavani for a bath, five round, iron boats furiously sway in the waters. Follow the boats, and you realise it's no innocuous fishing expedition. Wearing a tiny piece of cloth around their loins, the boatmen slip into the water and firmly plant a 20-foot long stick into the river. And then, the plundering of the Bhavani river sand begins, in broad daylight,
No licences or permission have been given by the Erode district administration for mining sand in Bhavani river. Yet these specially-crafted boats ruthlessly ravage the river bed. "We have not given any licences for mining sand in Bhavani river," concedes a senior revenue official. The men in loin clothes sink deep into the waters and bring out bucketfuls of sand. In the next two hours, the five boats are almost half-full with sand.
