Palamu, 30 August (HS). The ban of National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the action of task force are proving ineffective in this area. We are talking about Bokeya Koel river ghat of Chainpur police station area of Palamu district. Here illegal transportation of sand is being done openly from the darkness of night till early morning.
This situation was seen on Thursday and Friday as well. The villagers had stopped five sand-loaded tractors passing through this area. The Circle Officer and the Police Station In-charge were informed, but no one responded. Meanwhile, the tractor owner and his relatives forcibly took the vehicle from the spot.
Let us tell you that the Deputy Commissioner of the district Shashi Ranjan had held a meeting of the District Mining Task Force on Thursday itself. In this meeting, along with the mining officer, the Circle Officer and the Police Station In-charge were instructed to stop illegal mining.
In the meeting, the DC had asked all the Zonal Officers and Police Station Incharges to submit a consolidated report of the inspection of the mining area. He said that regular inspections should be done in your area and ensure that there is no illegal mining anywhere in your area.
Meanwhile, with the emergence of such a case from Chainpur, it is clear at what level the Circle Officer and the Police Station In-charge are taking action to stop illegal mining. Every day dozens of tractors carrying illegal sand leave from the Bokeya Koel river. The Bokeya Koel river is far away from the Chainpur police station. In such a situation, whenever there is any police activity, the people involved in sand smuggling easily get the information and they escape from the spot.
However, it is also being said that there is a setting from top to bottom in this illegal sand business. This is the reason why the administration did not dig trenches on the illegal sand lifting route in Bokeya. It should be mentioned here that recently in all the zonal areas, trenches were dug using JCBs on the roads through which vehicles pass in sand lifting areas.
Why did the villagers stop the tractor?
The reason behind the villagers stopping the tractors is trivial, but sand smuggling came to light because of this. Actually, after lifting sand from the Koel river, the tractors pass through the road at high speed. The villagers say that there is always a possibility of an accident due to the high speed of vehicles. Many chickens were crushed by the tractor. In anger, all the sand-loaded tractors were stopped and the administration was informed, but no action was taken immediately by the administration. Meanwhile, people of a particular community reached the spot and forcibly took away all the tractors from the spot. If the administration had come on time and taken action, the smugglers' activities could have been curbed. Five tractors were stopped simultaneously.