Kathmandu, June 7 -- A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court asking government bodies to stop illegal and excessive mining of sand, aggregate and boulders from Sunkoshi River.

Advocate Padam Bahadur Shrestha, representing Effort Lab, a non-governmental organisation, and advocate Chiranjivi Bhattarai on behalf of the Nepal River Conservation Trust and Narayan Shrestha, a local resident of Balephi Rural Municipality, Sindhupalchok, filed the petition on Thursday seeking an interim order to stop rampant excavation of sand and stones from the river.

According to advocate Shrestha, unchecked extraction of river resources from Sunkoshi has continued for a long time but the authorities concerned have failed to do anything despite s...