Jajpur: Bridges built on Baitarani river in Jajpur district have come under serious threat owing to rampant illegal sand mining from the riverbed as well as frequent plying of sand-laden heavy vehicles, a report said Thursday. This has happened due to a lack of stringent action and the profiteering attitude of the tehsil and revenue officials under Vyasanagar tehsil in the district. Sand smugglers grease the palms of the tehsil officials and carry on with their illegality with impunity. Regular sand mining with the help of earth movers makes the riverbed hollow affecting the stability of the bridge adversely. This also alters the course of the river.
Notably, bridges are the lifelines of the local residents as they solely depend on them for daily commutes to workplaces. It is alleged that sand traders in connivance with the tehsil and revenue officials illegally lift sand from various sand ghats of Baitarani river flowing through Jajpur district and smuggle the minor mineral to various destinations in Jajpur as well as in neighbouring Keonjhar and Bhadrak districts. As a result, bridges built on the river at Mathurapur, Rudhia, Akhuapada, and Jajpur have come under threat. The heavy sand-laden vehicles are plying frequently on the bridges. Recently three sand-laden tractors were seen plying on Mathurapur bridge after lifting sand from Mukundpur sand ghat of the river. The tehsil officials and police personnel were conducting a check-up of the vehicles plying on the bridge.
However, these three vehicles managed to give slip and escape despite the presence of police and tehsil officials. Eyewitnesses said that police personnel chased the vehicles but in vain. Sand extracted from riverbeds has high demand for construction works and it is also used to fill up the mines where mineral extraction has been completed. The state government has framed rules to lease out the sand quarries in Baitarani as well as other rivers in the state.
However, the sand smugglers, leaseholders, and tehsil officials hardly care about these norms. These bridges built on the river by spending crores have been pushed into endangered conditions. Samantarapur bridge on Brahmani river under Dharmasala block in Jajpur district and the Mathurapur, Rudhia, Akhuapada, Jajpur bridges on Baitarani river are some cases in this point.
As per technical guidelines, permission should not be given for establishment of sand quarry within one kilometre radius of any bridge. However, the reverse is happening here as sand mining is going on in the concerned areas beyond the permissible limits. The superintendent engineer of the Rural Works department had alerted the Rasulpur tehsildar of wrongdoing and had asked him to take urgent measures in this regard.
However, the Rasulpur tehsildar took steps but that too only for few a days and latter stopped it. Locals alleged that the transportation of sand in heavy vehicles on the bridges of Baitarani river affects the stability of bridges and is also altering the river course. They alleged that neither the local tehsildar nor the tehsildars in neighbouring districts are serious about such sand smuggling. When contacted, Vyasanagar tehsildar Ashok Kumar Majhi said he can only speak on the issue if called during office hours while all sand quarries are closed due to flood in the rivers.