The photo taken on Thursday, July 8, 2010 shows two sand mining ships at a temporary sand mining dock along the bulkhead line of Xiangjiang River in Wangcheng County, in central China's Hunan province.[Photo: Xiaoxiang Morning Post]

A total of 48 illegal sand mining fields have been found along the Xiangjiang River within Wangcheng County, in central 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.

The report says that the illegal sand mining has damaged the river, severely affecting water safety in the Xiang River basin. Meanwhile, sand mining construction has had a harmful impact to the flood prevention dam of the Xiang River, hindering the smooth passage of the flood, according to Wang Bing, director of Wangcheng County's water resources bureau.

The local government carried out related campaigns in June, calling on the sand mining operators to remove the equipment and close illegal sand mining fields within the Xiangjiang River course management area.

Wang Weisheng, deputy head of Wangcheng County, said related departments will launch a crackdown on illegal sand mining activities. More than 300 law enforcement officers have been recruited who will be in charge of forcible execution on demolishing illegal sand mining fields and destroying unlicensed ships on the spot.

It is said Wangcheng County's current output of sandstones is 120 million tons a year, accounting for half of the total yield from Changsha, Hunan's provincial city.
Related authorities from the local government claimed the crackdown on illegal sand mining fields which occupy a small part of the whole market will not affect the supply of sandstone in Changsha.

The Wangcheng County government will scientifically plan the sand mining fields and guarantee an ordered operation of this industry.