MANSEHRA: The tehsil administration on Friday got many tractor-trolley drivers and workers booked over the illegal excavation of sand and gravel along the Siren River in Baffa area here.

“There is a ban on the excavation of sand and gravel from the banks of rivers passing through our tehsil, so its violators have been booked,” assistant commissioner Novaria Farooq told reporters.

Ms Farooq led a team of police, irrigation department and tehsil municipal administration, which made tractor-trolleys upload sand and gravel loaded onto it.

She said the riverbed mining threatened the Anayatabad central bridge, which linked Baffa with the rest of Mansehra district.

The AC said the administration also took measures to prevent excavation of sand and gravel from under and near the bridge. She said the deputy commissioner had banned riverbed mining, so the residents should report it for a crackdown.

Ms Farooq warned that machinery used for illegal mining would be seized.

She directed officials of the irrigation department to ensure the bridge’s safety.

PSYCHOTHERAPY: The Victim Support Initiative launched by the police held sessions of psychotherapy for 240 male and 10 female prisoners at the district prison here on Friday.

Team leader and clinical psychologist Lubna Safeer told reporters that scientifically proven procedures were applied to prisoners to address their detention-induced strain, while jail personnel were trained in ways and means to overcome work stress.

She insisted that the exercise achieved the target.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2022