there was a very good article in the hindu on the double whammy of sand mining in rivers and how it affects the shoreline of kerala. and it had a vivid picture of how airport road in trivandrum is on verge of being washed out by the sea in the absence of shoreline due to continuous sand mining on beaches and rivers.

kerala rivers are already taking a huge brunt of sand mining. sand that is mined in huge quantities illegally, unsustainably and in an unregulated manner will be a death knell for rivers, beaches and to the population that depend on those.

well, tell this to an urban elite who has plugged in 50 lakh rupees for a dingy apartment in bangalore or chennai. he will laugh and crib about interest rates rather than the death state of our rivers.

well, that's development for you. where most of the urban elite population has lost touch with mother rivers thereby having zero knowledge of the importance of environment of india.
(bharatpuzha aka nila river of kerala. dying and dead due to massive illegal sand mining, this river is a classic example of mismanagment of our wonderful natural resources. it is double sad that a socially active state like kerala is willingly abusing its own rivers. the picture shows lake bed being exposed fully even soon after monsoon due to massive sand mining that has sucked out river's capability to retain water during non monsoon months and sometimes even during monsoon months)