Kendrapara: Bhitarkanika National Park has been declared a prohibited zone for its rich reserve of bio-diversity and wildlife inside the sanctuary. However, this has created an opportunity for miscreants engaged in smuggling coal outside the district. Taking advantage of the loopholes in patrolling by police and forest officials, they are smuggling coal through Bhitarkanika.
Coal arrives from Dhamra port in Bhadrak district and is smuggled outside of Kendrapara district. The miscreants are involving local residents in loading and unloading coal from boats by luring them with some money.
What is alarming is that coal smuggling has given rise to drug trafficking and mushrooming of illegal prawn gheries in wildlife sanctuaries. This has also led to intrusion by Bangladeshi nationals, who after their arrival are encroaching on the forest land to set up prawn gheries.
Observers said that such illegal work has given rise to criminal activities in the area as people are increasingly getting drawn to this business due to their poor financial condition. Locals are getting into this business due to lure of quick money but later do not hesitate to commit any crime at the orders of their masters.
A local resident Srikant Kumar Mahalik of Rajnagar said that the members of the coal smuggling racket spread from Dhamra port in Bhadrak district to Cuttack are active in this business for a long time. The scene of coal being smuggled outside in three to five trucks daily is not unusual and can be seen every night.
The Brahmani riverbank near Paramanandapur village in Khamar panchayat is the hub of coal smuggling, he said. The miscreants steal the large chunks of coal during its unloading from ships at Dhamra port and later, smuggle the coal and unload it in the prohibited zone of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary.
Then the coal is packed in empty cement packets and transported outside of the district in trucks. According to some locals involved in this illegal business, the smuggled coal is being unloaded at places like Nalitapatia, and Khola which come under prohibited zone of the sanctuary. He warned that if coal smuggling is not stopped then it will destroy the flora and fauna of Bhitarkanika.
A local requesting anonymity said that everybody including the police and forest officials is aware of the illegal business going on inside the prohibited zone of Bhitarkanika for a long time.
He alleged that coal smuggling is taking place just 1.5 km from Talchua Marine police station while the route through which the coal is smuggled outside has check gate of the Forest department and some toll gates, he said. The local police also conduct night patrolling on this route, he said. He questioned how could the coal smuggling take place when there are so many checkpoints on the route.
He demanded the district administration intervene and curb such illegalities in the area.
When contacted, DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said he is not aware of the issue as the matter has not come to the notice of the Forest department.
–post news network
