Jajpur: Illegal stone quarry owners making money, risking the lives of poor workers has become a regular affair in this district and has resulted in the deaths of 10 workers over the past 12 months.
A fresh addition to the list of casualties is Bichua Barik (50) of Utumara village under this block. He fell to death while dismantling a large stone in an illegal quarry on Jabara hill under Dharmasala tehsil.
Police detained quarry owners Kalia Samal, Manua Samal and Kunu Barik of Aruha village under Dharmasala police limits.
Though the district administration had constituted a task force to prevent illegal quarrying in the mining region, it is in a defunct state, locals alleged.
According to reports, Bichua was working in a rice mill earlier but couldn’t go to the mill for the past few days due to illness. He opted to work in the stone quarry from Wednesday after his recovery. One of the quarry owners, without providing any safety gears to him, asked him to dismantle large stones stuck on the top of the hill after the blast. Bichua fell down from a height of 50 ft on a rocky surface while attempting to remove a piece of stone. Coworkers rushed him to a hospital at Dharmasala where doctors declared him brought dead.
Padan Hembrum of Balangia village under Chakradharpur panchayat sustained critical injuries Monday when he was arranging for a blast in a quarry. He is battling for life at a Cuttack-based nursing home.
Taking serious note of illegally-run mines and the series of deaths in quarries, collector Ranjan Kumar Das personally investigated some cases in April. Expressing dissatisfaction over the inaction of police and revenue departments, he ordered formation of a task force and sealed the illegal quarries functioning under Dharmasala tehsil and reserve forest areas.
Officials of mining, revenue, forest departments and the Orissa State Pollution Control Board conducted joint raids and sealed 142 crusher units in the region. The raids continued till May end. However, the crusher units and the stone quarries have now resumed functioning as usual, it was learnt.
According to sources, more than a hundred illegal stone quarries are in operation on several hills including Dankari, Rahadpur, Bichhakhandi, Anjira, Lunibara, Baghua and Kusunupur. The forest and police officials cover up the wrongdoings taking monthly cuts from some influential quarry owners, locals alleged.
When contacted, sub-divisional police officer Jugalkishore Das said the cases of worker deaths are being taken seriously with booking of several stone traders responsible for the incidents. PNN
