Riverside villagers opposed against illegal sand mining by blocking the sand-laden vehicles
By Akshaya Rout
Jajpur,July 10 : Large numbers of riverside villagers under Vyasanagar Tahasil of Jajpur district on Saturday night opposed the illegal transportation of sand- laden heavy vehicles on the river embankment by blocking the vehicles.
They are up-in-arms against the district administration and sand mafias for illegal sand mining at the river Salandi .
Many villagers alleged that some sand mafias are damaging the river embankments and village roads in a clear nexus with ruling party leaders and venal officials
When contacted Bikram Kumar Mallick the Additional Tahasildar said “ We along with police rushed to the riverside villages after some locals blocked the transportation of sand- laden vehicles . We directed all the sand lease holders to repair the village roads and river embankments soon . The authorities also directed all the sand lifters to obtain environmental clearance from the government before lifting sand. The district administration has formed a special team to check illegal sand quarry works “.
