Apr 1, 2015 3:30 AM

Gallery: Photos: Inside India's Illegal, Bloody Sand Mining Industry

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Bangladeshi migrant workers unload sand from Indian-owned boats on the Thane Creek near Ghodbunder Village in Maharashtra, India.
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Creeks like the Thane carry countless tons of sand far and wide, accumulating them in their beds, on their banks, and at the places where they meet the sea.

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Workers wash Thane Creek sand before trucking it away.
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Indian workers wash sand that has been loaded onto trucks after being mined from the Thane Creek near Ghodbunder Village in Maharashtra, India.

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Indian workers crush stone into sand at an illegal mine near Raipur Village in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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Illegal mines like this one near Raipur Village, India, are cropping up around the developing world.

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Construction in Uttar Pradesh, India. Any building that needs concrete needs sand.
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A view of an illegal sand mine on the bank of the Yamuna River in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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An earthmover digs sand at an illegal sand mine on the Yamuna River in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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A ferry full of passengers crosses from the site of an illegal sand mine on the bank of the Yamuna River in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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Raipur Village, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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Outside the home where Paleram Chauhan, a local opposing illegal sand mining, was murdered in Raipur Village, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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Indian workers wash stone before it gets crushed into sand at an illegal mine near Raipur Village.
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A worker packs a truckload of sand near Raipur Village.

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Workers at an illegal sand mine on the Thane Creek in Maharashtra, India, dive to the bottom with a metal bucket to scoop sand; the boat crew hauls it to the surface.
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Indian workers dredge sand illegally from the Vaitarna River near Mumbai in Maharashtra, India.

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Sand mining boats work illegally on the Thane Creek near Nagla Bunder Village in Maharashtra, India.
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Indian workers dredge sand illegally from the Vaitarna River near Mumbai in Maharashtra, India.

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A sand diver gets ready for another trip to the bottom of Thane Creek.
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India’s Supreme Court recently warned that sand mining operations like this one near Nagla Bunder Village disrupt ecosystems all over the country.

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A truck carrying sand leaves an illegal sand mine on the bank of the Yamuna River in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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A view of a construction site in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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