বালু উত্তোলন ঘিরে ক্ষোভ, শ্মশানঘাটের অস্তিত্ব সংকটের অভিযোগে সরব গ্রামবাসী

Nirbhik Bengali, Asansol, 7 June: A new controversy has arisen over a sandpit in Shyamapur area of ​​Barabni police station of Asansol in West Bengal district. Complaints of local residents and ignoring the prescribed rules, sand is being lifted on a large scale using heavy equipment in the middle of the river. As a result, it has been claimed that apart from environmental damage, the tribal and slave communities are facing a years-old cremation ground crisis. It has been learned from local sources that despite the talk of sand lifting following specific rules in the management of sand ghats, in reality exceptions are being made. According to the villagers, a huge amount of sand is being lifted in the middle of the river by using multiple Pocklen machines and it is being loaded in trucks and highway vehicles. Allegation, near the area where this excavation work is going on, there are crematoriums used by the tribal and slave communities of Bindudhi and Shyamapur villages. For a long time, people of two communities have been performing their last rites and performing various religious rituals in this cremation ground. But due to continuous digging and use of heavy equipment, those religious rituals are being disrupted, claim the locals. A section of villagers complain that this excavation is being conducted under the supervision of sand trader Pathak. But no response to this allegation was received from the accused businessman. The residents of the area demanded immediate intervention of the administration. They said that if necessary measures are not taken immediately after looking into the matter, they will be forced to take the path of a larger movement. Besides, in the interest of protecting their religious and cultural heritage, a written complaint will be lodged with the highest administrative authorities of the state and country, the villagers said. Concern is increasing in the area regarding the incident. But it was not possible to independently verify the veracity of the allegations. Till now no official response has been received from the administration in this regard. Now the attention is on what action the concerned administrative office will take in view of the complaint.