Discontentment is brewing large among construction workers in the district as they have been sitting idle since a long time for all kinds of construction works have been paralysed due to a ban on sand lifting from riverbeds imposed by the Government. During a public meeting held in this regard under the chairmanship of social activist Surendra Prasad Singh here on Monday, Odisha Nirman Mazdoor Sabha (ONMS) State
president Utkalmani Satpathy said non-availability of sand is a national issue and the Union Government has clamped ban on sand mining in view of the vague pleas of pollution and environment crisis.Noted environmentalist Pradyumna Prasad Rath said, “When both the Union and State Governments could not prevent pollution of river water, putting ban on sand mining from river embankments without giving any alternative to workers is not a correct approach to control the pollution”.
Senior journalists Ratan Nair and Krushna Kumar Mishra said Bharat Nirman (Make in India) cannot be possible without sand and construction work of houses and various project works have been disrupted due to such faulty decision of the Government.Even ongoing projects for Nabakalebar festival in Puri would be affected in coming days, if no immediate step is taken in this regard, the speakers added.