Off-Road Vehicle Drifting Damages Grassland at Sayram Lake, Driver Detained and Faces Heavy Penalties
On the first day of the May Day holiday, an off-road vehicle maliciously drifted in the Sayram Lake scenic area in Xinjiang, damaging grassland vegetation. The vehicle drifted recklessly in the meadow area around the lake, churning up dust and flattening a large area of grass for several minutes, causing strong indignation among tourists. Police arrived and stopped the driver.
Scenic area enforcement staff stated that the driver has completed a record and will be responsible for restoring the damaged vegetation and providing long-term maintenance.
The case will be reported to the grassland supervision department. After professional personnel monitor and determine the extent of the damage and vegetation level, a fine of three to nine times the average yield of the grassland in the three years prior to the damage will be imposed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Grassland Law," and the driver will be ordered to restore the vegetation within a specified period.
Sayram Lake, as a national 5A-level scenic area and the highest and largest alpine lake in Xinjiang, has extremely slow growth of grassland vegetation around it. Once trampled and damaged, the recovery period can last for several years, or even cause irreversible ecological damage.
In recent years, there have been multiple similar incidents of off-road vehicles damaging grassland in the Sayram Lake scenic area. In June of last year, a Tank 300 off-road vehicle drifted here for 40 minutes, damaging approximately 13 acres of grassland. The vehicle owner was ultimately fined several thousand yuan and held responsible for vegetation restoration.