Sources said that the sand mining happens late in the night when trains stop operating and most of the dredging takes place along the banks of the creek close to the pillars of the rail bridge. File pic

Posing a serious threat to the movement of trains, illegal sand miners are now targeting the rail-bridge over Bhayandar creek. They dredge the soil on the banks of the creek and then load it in trawlers with the help of JCB machines to be carried away. The only reason behind it is an increase in demand for sand due to a surge in construction of buildings in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The western railway (WR) authorities are extremely worried as the problem, which started from the Vaitarna rail bridge, is slowly spreading in the city.