An appeal-cum-memorandum in this regard has been sent to district collector, member secretary of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and the environment and forest minister of state government by the president of NGO, Dr JayeshkumarNaik on Wednesday.

In his appeal, Dr Naik, who is crusading for the illegal sand mining in the rivers located in Navsari and surrounding areas from the past many years, has raised the critical issues including the adverse impact of uninterrupted sand mining in the rivers like Ambika, Mindhola, Kaveri and Purna and has demanded legal action against the perpetrators disturbing the ecology and hydrology of the region.

According to Dr Naik, dozens of brick kilns have come along the rivers and tones of hazardous chemical water is released in the water. Even the untreated industrial water is being brought through the tankers from Surat, Vapi and other nearby areas for dumping in the river.

"There are many industrial units including textile dyeing and printing mills located near Palsana industrial area near the NH-8 which are directly releasing untreated hazardous chemical water into Mindholariver. Even a layman could see a visible difference between the clean the colourful water flowing in the river," said Dr Naik.

Dr Naik added, "The uninterrupted sand mining has increased the salinity levels in Navsari district. Due to the usage of heavy-duty machines to extract water from the riverbeds, the saline sea water during the high tides seeps into the earth. However, the water in the bore-wells in most parts of Navsari district have been receiving saline water."