MUSTANG: Seven individuals along with seven tractors and their drivers were taken into police custody for conducting illegal extraction in the Gandaki River.

The District Police Office, Mustang, impounded six sand-laden tractors bearing registration numbers Ga 1 Ta 7653, Ga 1 Ta 7597, Ga 1 Ta 6653, Dha 1 Ta 114, Ga 1 Ta 6088, and Ga 1 Ta 6954 on charges of excavating and transporting riverbed natural resources without permission.

The suspects were caught illegally extracting and transporting sand from the Gandaki River bank near Eklebhatti in Varagung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality-4 along the Jomsom–Korala road section.

Inspector Santosh Basyal of the District Police Office, Mustang, stated that extracting riverbed materials from the Gandaki River during the monsoon season significantly increases the risk of natural disasters.