Aravali from sky: Drones to keep a watch on mining

Gurgaon: Nuh police have started using drones to scan the Aravali region and check stone mining. Police have identified 29 villages close to the eco-sensitive hills where the mining of stones is rampant. These villages are under drone surveillance round-the-clock.
“We continuously monitor 29 villages close to the Aravali hills,” said Nuh SP Varun Singla, adding, “Not only drones but teams from different police stations are also continuously visiting these villages and holding talks with the sarpanches and elderly villagers about legal action they can face if they get involved in the mining activities.”
Mining in the Aravalis has been a cause for concern for years. In July last year, Tauru DSP Surendra Singh was mowed down by a truck carrying illegally-mined stones when he tried to stop it. The DSP had gone to Pachgaon near Tauru to conduct a raid against illegal mining in the Aravalis.
Police teams recently visited the Silkho, Noorpur, Hatangaon, Jakhor, Mahun, Rawa, Baghola, Jhimrawat, Dadola, Shahjadpur, Dhulawat, Ghusbethi, Salaka-Malaka, and Kharak Jalalpur villages for meetings with villagers.
“We told them that their villages are already under the radar of police and drones. We have also shared numbers with the elders and sarpanches of these villages and asked them to ensure that no one gets involved in mining,” added the Nuh SP.
Earlier, Nuh police had begun drone surveillance to track down hideouts of people involved in cow smuggling and slaughter.
The district, which sees most cases registered under Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan (HGSG) Act, is also where cow vigilante groups have been active for some time.
Nuh police were recently in the eye of a storm over the involvement of cow vigilante groups in the murders of Junaid and Nasir from Rajasthan’s Ghatmeeka this February. A police spokesperson had said that 11 villages in and around Aravali hills on the Haryana-Rajasthan border are under surveillance.