Champua: High intensity blasts being carried out regularly with machines inside stone mines have caused cracks in houses in Champua area of Keonjhar. This has triggered deep resentment among locals who staged protests and blocked a road.
The agitating villagers said stone mafia used heavy machines to drill holes. The drilling triggers vibrations in the area. “Later, holes are stuffed with explosives and they are blasted to extract stones. But outhouses are cracked due to high intensity blasts and vibrations. Our lives and houses are always in danger,” they lamented.
The villagers of Kalikaprasd said, “Explosions are carried out all through night. We are so panicked that we have lost our sleep. We feel unsafe in the village. The intensity of the blast is so high that we feel walls of our thatched houses would collapse. Our houses would be completely damaged if the blasts continue in this manner.”
The ailing people in the area are more disturbed by high intensity explosion by the stone mafia, the villagers lamented, alleging the administration has failed to take action against the mafia.
The angry villagers blocked the road by burning tyres.
Police officials from Champua rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the villagers.
On insistence of villagers, police visited the stone quarries and instructed a supervisor to stop stone mining in such manner.