Large numbers of riverside villagers under Vyasanagar tehsil of Jajpur district on Saturday night opposed the illegal transportation of sand in heavy vehicles on the river embankment by blocking the vehicles.
The villagers are up in arms against the district administration and sand mafias for illegal sand mining at the river Salandi.
The villagers alleged that sand mafias are damaging the river embankments and village roads in a clear nexus with ruling party leaders and venal officials.
When contacted, Additional Tehsildar Bikram Kumar Mallick said, “We along with police rushed to the riverside villages after some locals blocked the sand-laden vehicles. We directed all the sand leaseholders to repair the village roads and river embankments soon. The authorities also directed the sand lifters to obtain environmental clearance from the Government before lifting sand. The district administration has formed a special team to check illegal sand quarry works.”