Ranpur: In a shocking incident, the families of two siblings were ostracised by the people of their locality over their opposition to the establishment of a brick kiln near their house at Gadasahi in ward no-1 under Ranpur civic body limits in Nayagarh district.
Trinath Pradhan (35), a casual labourer, and his brother Rabindra Pradhan, lodged a complaint with the police, but to no avail.
The highhanded locals also assaulted their family members and debarred their children from taking tuitions and interacting with fellow-villagers.
The siblings then filed a complaint in the court of the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Ranpur, which admitted the petition for hearing and directed Ranpur police to probe the matter and report to it at the earliest.
Such kinds of incidents are frequently reported from this district due to apathetic attitude of the administration and the police, locals said.
According to reports, eight months back some villagers had constructed a brick kiln in the backyard of Trinath’s house much to his dislike. He requested them to shift the kiln elsewhere, but the villagers paid no heed and went ahead with the project.
As a result, it became impossible for him and his family to live in an atmosphere of constant pollution. Later, he approached the village gram sabha (village committee) and sought its intervention in the matter.
However, the gram sabha too turned down his plea and allowed the brick kiln owners to operate from the place as the latter used to pay `10,000 to the village committee every year, it was learnt.
Trinath again voiced his opposition to such a ruling. Enraged over this, the gram sabha ostracised him and his family. The gram sabha even debarred them from using water from the village.
Trinath’s ordeal didn’t end here. The village committee even ostracised his brother Rabindra and his family after they found him talking to Trinath.
A few days back, some villagers assaulted the two families over the issue. Locals have demanded a thorough probe into the matter as to how could a brick kiln be established in a human habitat without the knowledge of the tehsildar. PNN