Bhadrak: Illegal saw-mills are dime a dozen in the district and most of them are doing a brisk business under the very nose of the authorities. The multiple ‘raids’ by the forest department are just an eyewash as owners cannot run these units without the blessings of the forest department. There are at least 30 illegal saw-mills in the district.
The so called seizures of machinery, most of which are defunct machines and unusable belts, among others, are all sham, said a person on the condition of anonymity. Sources said officials allegedly inform owners about their raids before they actually carry them out. This was self-evident from a raid at the newly-installed saw-mill at Haladidiha bypass near Bhadrak town, Saturday.
Before the joint raids happened, all machinery had disappeared from the unit. The owner and workers of the saw-mill were not in sight during the raid. So much so that the local media had been in the know of the raid a week in advance. The media had descended on the site 15 minutes before the raid team arrived. “The owner and workers of the unit had already been tipped off about the raid,” said additional tehsildar Gadadhar Bal, who was magistrate in-charge during the raid.
There was no sight of any machinery or valuable timber even though the unit had been opened only two months back. Sources said this is just a tip of the ice berg. The department has all information about these illegal saw-mills in the district, but it chooses to close its eyes to their illegal activities.
There are seven saw-mills in Bhadrak town while as many units operate on Nilak road canal near Bant road. Illegal saw-mills are also located at near Tihidi medical, Dhamnagar block road, Asurali main road, Olag at Chandbali, Dobal bazaar, Manjuri road and Chhatabar.
Such illegal activities also happen in broad daylight at Chandimal, Parapokhari, Barapur, Iram, Jagannathpur and Arundia in Basudevpur block. The spurt in illegal saw-mills in the district is due to failure of the administration to permit and set up licensed saw-mills here, sources added. PNN
