The illegal mining of gold in the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district is causing huge losses to the national and provincial exchequers as the authorities failed to take action against the perpetrators.

Several excavators were busy in the illegal extraction of gold at various points of Indus River at Nizampur town while heavy machinery has also been deployed by the mining mafia to illegally extract gold from sediments and sands.

However, the locals said that the district administration, police and the Mines and Minerals Department had failed to control the illegal mining which has been going on for around two years.

They said that an excavator, rented on Rs1.8 million, can extract gold to the tune of Rs10 million per month.

When asked by Aaj News correspondent, the additional director of the Mines & Minerals Department refused to take action against the mafia which according to him comprises influential people.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner of Nowshera Khalid Kattak told BBC that the authorities have banned gold mining, however, people were still extracting the precious metal illegally.

While the mining has been going on for years in Nizampur, heavy machinery was introduced in 2022 which has gained pace during the outgoing year, he added.

DC Khattak said that a joint check post of police and the Mineral Department has been established in the area to combat the illegal mining and arrest those involved.