Authorities imposed prohibitory order to prevent illegal quarry of black granite stones

By Akshya Rout

Jajpur,Mar 5 ;  The district administration   on Sunday imposed prohibitory order of section-144 of Criminal Procedure Code  at the hillocks  of  Samia  under Darpani  tehsil in Jajpur district to prevent illegal quarrying of black granite  by some stone lifters,  said   Subha Darshan Mishra the Tehasildar of Darpani .

We have not  leased out the  hillocks to any person for stone quarrying . But some people had been illegally doing stone quarry –works. After getting allegations from the villagers we stopped stone quarrying, added the officer.

 Many locals expressed happiness after the officials stopped illegal stone quarries at  Samia and other Buddhist sites  of the district.

 The district is also known for its famous Buddhist sites of Lalitgiri ,  Ratnagiri and Udayagiri known as the diamond triangle . But many people are not aware about many unknown Buddhist sites and heritage and ancient monuments of the district  and its nearby areas. The government should protect all the Buddhist sites by banning quarry works , said Harish Chandra Prusti, a noted Buddhist scholar of the district.

The famous Buddhist sites in  Lalitgiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri  are  world class heritage sites . But the Buddhist sites in Kaima, Tarapur, Deuli  , Sukhuapada, Parabhadi and other  famous hillocks     are being neglected  by the authorities. Very few tourists visit these Buddhist sites .

 While Article 51A of the Constitution says it is the duty of every Indian to protect the heritage of the country, citizens also need to have the skills or someone to guide them to know how to preserve heritage,  added Prusti.

Four   years back,  the district administration had sealed  four  illegal  stone quarries    at  another hillock at Dankari   after the  National Green Tribunal (NGT)    directed the Secretary, Forest and  Environment Department to constitute a joint inspection team to ascertain facts pertaining to illegal stone quarries operating in and around Dankari hillock   and take necessary actions against the quarry mafias and close the illegal quarries.

 Six    years back,  , Dharmendra  Pradhan the minister of petroleum and natural gas had  urged the  Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik   to provide 600 acres of land to set up the country’s largest strategic reserve for storing 3.7 million metric tonne (MMT) crude oil  in Jajpur district.  As per the direction of the state government the district administration  had also selected around 600 acres of land for this purpose at Dankari.