The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the Nayagarh Collector and District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) over the death of two children by drowning in an open mining quarry in which rainwater had got filled.
Acting on a complaint filed by rights campaigner Subash Mohapatra of the city-based Global Human Rights Communications, the rights panel on Friday called for report within four weeks.
‘A mining mafia in connivance with the local administration is indulged in illegal mining of stone quarries in Ranpur area in Nayagrh. On January 9, two children, Subham and Sipun, drowned in an open quarry in Sikharpur village under Majhiakhand panchayat under Ranpur block in Nayagarh, in which rain water had got filled,’ alleged Mohapatra.
‘The mining mafias, without due environment clearance and other requirement from the concerned authorities, engaged in illegal mining of stone queries and left the space open. During the rainy season, the open place filled with water and now subsequently has been a threat to life and environment. The local tehsildar P Sahu having unholy nexus with mining mafia did not take action against them,’ the petitioner contended.
The petitioner said though it was mandatory to have environmental clearance for minor mining, but the mining was being continued without any clearance.
‘It could be prevented if the local authorities could have acted as per law. The unholy nexus and extraneous consideration between the mining mafia and the tehsildar office caused the death of two children and helped rising environmental concerns,’ Mohapatra stated in the petition.