"Stepped-up efforts on the part of law-enforcement in Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu, four provinces along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, have brought unauthorized sand quarrying activities under better control," a leading water official said yesterday.

During the latest joint crackdown on the illegal removal of sand in the four provinces, authorities checked a record 4,600 boats suspected of involvement, foiled 640 cases of illegal sand quarrying, seized 2,053 boats and demolished 1,535 other boats being used by profiteers illegally selling sand, said the official, quoting the latest statistics released yesterday here.

Zhang Jiyao, vice-minister of water resources, said yesterday at a conference that "the special crackdown has helped curb the once increasing sand quarrying, a major issue threatening dykes along the flood-prone Yangtze."

Zhang was confident that efforts by law-enforcement officials had brought illegal sand quarrying under control, protecting the area's flood-control projects.

"Since the enforcement of special measures brought into effect early last year, there has been no serious cases of disrupted water transportation due to unauthorized sand removal along the Yangtze, one of China's major transport arteries," Zhang added.

According to the new rules, a ban was issued on any sand removal activities in the above-mentioned areas.

Zhang urged local authorities to continue to intensify their crackdown on unauthorized sand quarrying as the issue remains unresolved in a few sections along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze.

Instead of confiscating boats involved in illegal sand-quarrying, some local authorities were found to have been ignoring their duties, helping guilty parties escape, Zhang said, indicating that regional protectionism has actually shielded such businesses for benefit.

(China Daily February 26, 2003)