Puri: The crackdown on illegal sand miners at Sipasarubali under Brahmagiri tehsil here late Thursday has exposed the fact that sand mafia have been destroying sand dunes, the natural barriers that safeguard seashore and its ecosystem, in the district by rampant quarrying of sand using heavy equipment for decades now.
Sources said a few hours after arresting five illegal sand miners and seizing as many as 15 sand-laden vehicles late Thursday night, police claimed to have found that a few unscrupulous officials of the district administration work hand-in-glove with the sand mafia to make some extra bucks.
According to environmentalists, destroying sand dunes is nothing short of being exposed to nature’s fury. It would jeopardise the lives of the people, especially those living in the coastal areas, during cyclones and tidal waves. Besides, intrusion of saltwater is also one of the repercussions of damaging the sand dunes. “The sand dunes not only serve as bio-fencing for the shore, but also protect several marine species too,” a city-based environmentalist said, adding that damaging the dunes in an attempt to make some extra bucks is no less than killing the ecosystem and marine vegetation as well.
Apart from causing long-term ravages to the eco-system, illegal sand quarrying, time and again, had also crippled normal life. “Sand miners use heavy equipment for taking sand from these dunes and damage the nearby underground cables. As a result, denizens have to suffer frequent power outages,” a Sipasarubali resident said.
The menace is not limited to Sipasarubali area only. “Illegal sand mining is also rampant at Patharapaka under Kakatpur and Talada under Astaranga,” a local resident of Patharapaka pointed out, adding that it is the common man which bears the brunt.
According to a senior Forest department official, the sand mafia are leaving no stone unturned to mine sand from the forest reserve areas in the district like Konark-Kakatpur beach and Puri-Konak beach among other locations, sources said.
When asked, district Collector Jyotiprakash Das assured to look into the menace. “Sipasarubali is on the outskirts of the Holy City. Hence, we’re unable to ensure a regular vigil on the area. We’ve asked all the tehsildars to remain alert and intensify crackdown on the wrongdoers,” Das said.
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