Ecosystem Taken For A Ride

India's forest ecosystems are on the verge of annihilation, thanks firstly to poachers and now, also to illegal miners. How come truckloads of illegally mined minerals evade the notice of forest officials in the Black Hills of Kutch for months together? Are they too innocent to differentiate between permitted and illegal mining activities taking place right under their nose? Questions are manifold. But most unfortunately, the administration is still finding it taxing to break its hibernation. The result - an endangered ecosystem. Perhaps there can be few better instances of man's illimitable avarice, when he is ready to strike the axe on his own feet, with the guardian-angels of administration still cooling their fit in the comfort of government offices.