Boudh: For the last one month, locals have been staging protests against stone crushing units and stone mines in Harbhanga block of Boudh district.
Tuesday, hundreds of residents of Kharbhuin and Baisipada in Chhataranga panchayat staged protests in front of the Collector’s office against the operation of stone crushers in the area.
During talks with villagers earlier, the tehsildar had allegedly misbehaved with the former and threatened them of action if they protested against the stone crushing units.
The agitating villagers demanded immediate transfer of the tehsildar from the area for providing protection to the stone crushing units. They clamoured for complete closure of the stone crushing units in the area.
Hundreds of villagers, including women, took out a rally from the bus stand area and shouted slogans against the administration. Stone quarrying is taking a heavy toll on the greenery with trees being felled to make space for the quarries.
Stones are extracted using explosives. Explosion has been damaging the houses in the area. A delegation of agitating people had earlier met the Sub-Collector and the Harbhanga tehsildar over the issue, but the talks remained inconclusive.
Villagers have been opposing the operation of the stone crushing units in the area for the last one month. The villagers lamented that these crusher units have been causing pollution in the area and also affecting farming activities.
“Dust emanating from stone crushers falls on farmland and affects its fertility. Dust also polluted water bodies, causing diseases among people,” they added.
They demanded that all these crusher units should be closed down. The agitating people warned of intensifying their protest in coming days if no action is taken by the administration to close down these units.
The villagers led by Kharbhuin Village Committee president Akshay Nayak observed that operation of stone crushing units have spurred quarrying in the region.
The agitators submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Collector for the district administration, seeking transfer of the Harbhanga tehsildar.
PNN
