Villagers of Lokanathpur under Kentalo panchayat under Nischintakoili tehsil have expressed resentment over permission granted for sand mining (officially called Sairat) from the river bank in Lokanathpur.
Claiming that it would affect the environment and lead to destruction of life and property, more than 60 families residing by river Luna have submitted a memorandum to the Tehsildar and sent its copies to Collector, Principal Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Mitigation Department and Secretary of Ministry of Forest and Environment to cancel the mining permission.
There is already a Sairat at Kulasukarpara adjacent to Lokanathpur. Without considering the consequence of digging of sand from the river bed very close to human habitation, Nischintakoili tehsil has permitted it at Lokanathpur and auctioned it this year, said the villagers.
They also alleged that due to locals’ protest, the Loakanathpur Sairat has not been auctioned for the last 10 years.
The person who has taken this Sairat is now planning to cut the river embankment at vulnerable points and also make road for transportation illegally on the private land, they added.
They said if sand is lifted from the river, it would pose threat to human life and property as it would cause breaches in the embankment during flood.
The discontented villagers have also threatened to
stage road block on Cuttack-Kendrapara State Highway if the Lokanathpur Sairat is not cancelled within 15 days.
