Khairai: Rampant stone mining in Sarisua hill under Khaira tehsil in Balasore has left locals fuming. Earlier, locals had strongly opposed such mining, but the administration took no step to stop it.
Frustrated over such persistent mining, locals have warned of abandoning their villages.
Taking serious note of the problem, a team of officials comprising sub-collector Nilu Mohapatra and tehsildar Pradip Kumar Sahu visited the peripheral villages Wednesday and talked to the affected people. Some BJP leaders, including Padmalochan Panda, Ananda Ballabh Nayak and Manoj Swain, were also present during the meeting.
Villagers told the officials that they were scared due to the regular explosions in the stone mines for wagon drilling. It was also alleged that earth and stones blasted out lay on farmlands at the foothill. This has become a cause of concern for the farmers.
The villagers demanded immediate halt to wagon drilling and creating job opportunities in the stone mines.
The officials assured the villagers that they need to submit their complaints in written formats so that action can be initiated in this regard.
The sub-collector said that the stone mines have been leased out as per rules and that stone mining can’t be stopped. However, he assured that steps will be taken to curb blasts and tell the lease holders to engage the local youths in mining activities.
PNN
