Despite claim of mining officials that adequate security is provided in the Sendmuda mines in the Deobhog region of the state, the precious Alexander stones are lying open in the area, posing a threat of them being stolen.
Only an unarmed ‘Kotwar’ is guarding the mine .
It is worth mentioning here that with the start of monsoon season, when ‘Tel’ river, which flows through the Sendmuda village, starts flooding, the Tuskers from nearby villages, as well as from outside the state start entering Sendmuda.
Though, earlier the state government had deployed Special Armed Force (SAF) troopers in the mines, they are now withdrawn. Barbed wire fencing is although done at the periphery of the mine but the security is left only at the hands of an unarmed ‘Kotwar’.
District Mining Officer V.H. Naidu while talking to The Pioneer claimed that the area was secured by concreting the entire mine.
Notably, the Alexander stone is at present found only in Russia. Now there is a possibility of finding them in large numbers in the mines of Sendmuda and latapara of Deobhog, situated in the state on the Odisha border. The state government after finding that there was a possibility of existence of precious stones, it had declared it as a ‘preserved zone’.