Nayagarh: The forest cover and mountains of this district, known for its dense jungles and hills, has sharply shrunk, thanks to the government’s policy to maximize revenues from these sources.
Pokasungha village hills, Badhipatana Baghua hill, Kotagarh Anantagumpha hill along Raja Sunakhela-Ranapur road under Ranapur tehsil have been nearly destroyed. Blasting of stones using dynamites has been random here.
Roads have been laid through jungles by the nearby leaseholders and crusher owners. This has resulted in fast erosion of the hills and denudation of the forests.
Environmentalist Biswajit Dash said, just because the government gets good revenue by leasing out these hills, this should never be encouraged. Crusher owners and leaseholders cut down hundreds of trees to make roadways for transportation of stones.
There should be an inquiry as to who gave the permission for such massive damage to local forests and the environment. The role of the forest department in this is crucial.
Mining beyond the permissible limits is being done. Blasting through dynamites has been happening day and night endangering the lives of people in the adjoining villages.
There should be clarity if there is permission for this type of damage by the tehsildar. Further, mining is being done in areas other than those identified by the authorities.
Locals should raise protests against such unlawful activities. If it is not stopped, the natural beauties of this district will soon be a thing of the past, local social workers said.
Environmentalist Sanjay Sahu said, it is difficult to raise a full-grown plant. But the way large swathes of forest lands are being cleared of flora and fauna should be investigated.
The violators should be brought to book, he said, adding if required, their licenses should be revoked. Sahu also demanded that afforestation on these hills be undertaken to protect these mountains from degeneration.
Teacher Antaryami Sahu said such illegal activities are not confined to Raj Sunakhala alone as it has spread across the district. The leaseholders and crusher owners threaten people if they protest against their wanton activities.
The administration is completely silent with regard to violations of rules in leased mines or illegal mines. This has resulted in gradual leveling of hills and denudation of forests in the forest-rich Nayagarh district.
Even though there have been scores of protests against it in the past, they have had no effect on the authorities. The Kotagada Anantagumpha hill has a rich legend.
It is said that this was the seat of activities of Bhaktakabi Bhakta Charan Das. This was here where he lived and wrote his poems.
PNN
