Jaleswar: Apart from its water, Subarnarekha is known for its valuable sand in four riparian blocks of Balasore.
The riverbed in these villages under Basta, Baliapal, Bhograi and Jaleswar blocks has witnessed several rounds of clashes between locals of Balasore and the sand mafia of West Bengal who used to wantonly loot its sand.
Even though the NGT has put a curb on sand mining in the river, the Bengal mafia still carries out the loot with the administration failing to fully curb it.
According to reports, Subarnarekha, said to be the lifeline of Balasore for its utility for agriculture and fishing, has a 360- km long course. It originates in Chhattisgarh and flows through Jamshedpur, Jamshola, Fakeghat before merging with the Bay of Bengal in Balasore.
It is said that the sand of the river contains precious minerals like uranium and titanium. Given its rich mineral contents, mafia has been mining its sand and exporting it to Bangladesh through West Bengal. This illegal loot has resulted in the state government losing revenue worth crores of rupees.
Sand mining has been a bone of contention in the bordering villages. There are 50 sand mines in the river. However, the administration has not yet been able to auction these mines.
A few months ago the National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed an order on sand loot in the river. Following repeated crackdown by the local administration, Bengal mafia kept quiet for some time and stopped sand mining at Bilashpur, Rajnagar, Makidia, Kuanrpur, Dakhina Praharajpur, Beherasahi, and Makarampur.
However, they are back to business now. The sand mafia has been using swamp pump sets to extract sand from its bed in violation of environment protection norms. This causes massive erosion of banks, causing resentment in riparian villages. Hundreds of trucks and tractors cart away sand from the river on a daily basis, locals alleged, pointing out that at different places, mafia has stocked sand.
They further alleged that the Bengal mafia managed to carry out illegal mining with the help of local officials.
A truckload of sand is sold for Rs 18,000. From this one can imagine the loss accruing to the state government.
Bhograi MLA Ananta Das had given a proposal for renovation of Subarnarekha river estimated at Rs 970 crore. But the proposal has been pushed under official files. The proposal entails drainage of floodwaters, bank protection and hydroelectricity production.
The river mouth area is spread over 18 km. But it has become shallow due to silting up. Locals have demanded that the state government form state and district level task forces to curb illegal sand mining in the river.