DHADING: District Monitoring Committee, Dhading, has started inspecting sand refineries and stone crusher industries across the district to ensure that those businesses that had been running illegally were shut.

The committee’s monitoring started yesterday after the district level monitoring and coordination committee decided to shut all crusher and sand refinery plants operating illegally in the district.

As per a data, there are more than six dozen illegal crusher and sand refinery plants in Pida, Baireni and Gajuri alone.

According to Dipakraj Nepal, coordinator of the committee, most of the plants that had been running earlier have shut their business.

“Almost all the illegally operating plants have been shut down except one or two that are still functioning in Kampur VDC,” he said.

Though the plants had been told to shut down many times they had ignored the directives of the district cottage and small industry development committee.

“As they did not comply with the earlier directives, we had to crack the whip,” said Nepal.

Meanwhile, the cottage and small industry office has also issued directive to shut down 31 other crusher industries which were found to be operating without meeting the necessary criteria.