Balasore: The sand mafia from West Bengal continues to plunder sand from river Subarnarekha in Balasore district, causing huge loss of revenue to the state exchequer and leaving an adverse impact on the water resources of the area.
According to reports, the mafia has started using powerful swamp pumps to draw huge quantity of sand about 50 ft deep in the riverbed. This technique of absorbing sand has multiple impacts on riparian areas.
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Swamp pump comprises an iron-bodied boat fitted with two machines of 50 horse power each. While absorbing sand, the boat and machines use diesel as fuel.
Long plastic pipes of 5-inch thickness are sunk into the riverbed to absorb sand into other boats before being transported to the neighbouring state. This is how they draw good quality sand by automatic sieving of sand through the pipes.
According to locals, when the mafia runs swamp pumps to drawn sand, it creates ear-shattering sound and vibrations underground, causing cracks in a number of buildings in the riparian villages. The ground shakes during the operation of swamp pumps, they said.
Under its impact, chunks of earth are many a time seen collapsing from riverbanks. The swamp pump-induced vibrations have left the walls and boundary walls of Bishweswar Nodal Primary School at Kunarpur cracked, villagers said, adding this has caused panic among the inhabitants. The school is situated at a place just 30 metre away from the riverbank.
Alarmed over the development, students, villagers and even some officials have taken up the matter with the district collector.
Villagers said due to the trembling of ground and the deafening sound, students fail to concentration on studies and are constantly in a state of panic. With walls having developed cracks, the number of students in the school has come down, it was learnt.
The mafia engages over a hundred trucks, tractors and dumpers to transport sand from Subarnarekha in Kunarpur area to different parts of West Bengal.
A few days ago, the administration and the police of Medinapore district in WB had imposed restrictions on sand quarrying and transporting by doing regular checks at several places. But after a brief hiatus, the situation is back to square one here, according to reports.
Sand is transported to Burdwan, Kharagpur, Kolkata and other areas from where large construction companies purchase the minor mineral at good price.
For good quality sand, the mafia has always set its sight on Subarnarekha but the district administration has allegedly not taken any action even when the state loses revenue worth crores of rupees.
President of the school management committee Gopal Krushna Karan, headmaster Bairagi Pramanik, teacher Beni Marendi and villagers Kuna Singh, Ajay Samal, Satyabrata Kapudi, Jyotsnarani Behera, Nityananda Dandapat and all students drew the attention of the collector , the tehsildar, the block education officer, the district education officer and district project coordinator of Sarva Sikhya Abhiyan. Tehsildar Ramchandra Kisku and BEO Chandramani Nayak said an investigation is on into the matter. PNN
