Haldwani, April 6 -- A dispute between a dumper owner and a gate in-charge at the Gaula River mining exit gate escalated into a physical altercation on Sunday, prompting personnel of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UFDC) to shut down all 11 exit gates along the river stretch in Haldwani area of Nainital district. According to officials, the incident occurred at the Devrampur exit gate when a dumper allegedly attempted to leave the mining area without undergoing the mandatory weighing process at the weighbridge. Officials said the situation turned tense after a confrontation broke out between the mining contractor and the gate staff, during which the gate in-charge was allegedly assaulted and his mobile phone damaged. Dhiresh Bisht, divisional logging manager of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation, said that around a dozen vehicles entered the Gaula river mining zone through the Devrampur exit gate without being weighed. "Weighbridge staff informed the gate in-charge, Saurabh Maratha, who contacted the vehicle owners and instructed them to complete the weighing process before exiting," Bisht said. According to him, the vehicle owners claimed their dumpers were already loaded with riverbed material (RBM) and that a technical fault in the weighbridge prevented accurate readings. "However, the gate in-charge asked them to unload the vehicles and undergo fresh weighing. This led to a heated argument between the parties," Bisht said. He alleged that during the dispute one mining contractor assaulted the gate in-charge and smashed his mobile phone while he was recording the incident. "Following the altercation, employees of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation shut the Devrampur gate and later closed all 11 exit gates from Lalkuan to Sheeshmahal along the Gaula river mining stretch," Bisht said. He added that a complaint has been lodged at Lalkuan police station and action will be taken against the accused contractor. "The vehicle involved in the incident will be seized and the contractor's registration for operations in the Gaula river mining zone will be permanently cancelled," Bisht said. Meanwhile, Bhagwan Dhami, president of the Dumper Union at the Devrampur exit gate, termed the incident unfortunate and said the dispute arose due to a technical fault in the weighbridge. He said the malfunction created confusion among vehicle operators, which escalated tensions between the dumper owners and gate officials....