{"id":76502,"date":"2025-05-02T12:27:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T10:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/?p=76502"},"modified":"2025-05-02T12:27:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T10:27:29","slug":"illegal-sand-miners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/illegal-sand-miners\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Illegal sand miners&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Two men, aged 21 and 28, were apparently caught in the act of illegal sand mining by officers of Stellenbosch Municipality&#8217;s Rapid Response Unit (RRU) around 12:00 on Monday (21 April).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The incident occurred beneath the Bird Street\/R304 bridge between Cloetesville and Khayamandi, where repairs are currently underway, after a section washed away during heavy rains earlier this month. The municipality warns the bridge is structurally vulnerable if illegal activities such as these continue. &#8220;The illegal activity directly threatens public safety and critical municipal infrastructure.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A case of damage to municipal infrastructure has been opened following the incident, which led to the temporary closure of a portion of Bird Street on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The municipality urges residents to report illegal activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two men, aged 21 and 28, were apparently caught in the act of illegal sand mining by officers of Stellenbosch Municipality&#8217;s Rapid Response Unit (RRU) around 12:00 on Monday (21 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men, aged 21 and 28, were apparently caught in the act of illegal sand mining by officers of Stellenbosch Municipality's Rapid Response Unit (RRU) around 12:00 on Monday (21 April). The incident occurred beneath the Bird Street\/R304 bridge between Cloetesville and Khayamandi, where repairs are currently underway,  after a section washed away during heavy rains earlier this month. The municipality warns the bridge is structurally vulnerable if illegal activities such as these continue. \"The illegal activity directly threatens public safety and critical municipal infrastructure.\" A case of damage to municipal infrastructure has been opened following the incident, which led to the temporary closure of a portion of Bird Street on Monday. 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