The illegal crusher plants were closed down after hundreds of local people of Bandipur VDC in Siraha district, apparently angry over the local administration´s inaction, seized excavators and tippers used by the plants a day ago. [break]
Following the seizure, local authorities called a meeting with representatives of crusher plant operators and local people and the meeting decided to shut the plants immediately. At the meeting, crusher plant operators also agreed to take away all their equipment, including excavators, from the river within a week.
In the Kamala river, at least three crusher plants and one depot had been set up by the local entrepreneurs. The locals, especially of Bandipur VDC, had long been on the warpath against the illegal plants, saying that crusher plants led to environmental degradation in the fragile Chure hills. They had time and again urged the local administration to take legal actions against such illegal operations.
As the local administration continued to turn a deaf ear to their demand, the locals on Sunday burst out against the illegal operations, eventually forcing the District Administration Office (DAO) of Siraha to call an emergency meeting.
"We wrote to the local administration to close the illegal plants several times. We also informed the Ministry of Home Affairs about it," said Jagadish Mahato, a local resident. "Finally, our voice has been heard. But, we had to use a little bit of force to be heard."
Earlier, in view of the rampant extraction of stones, boulders and sand from the rivers that flow through the Chure hills as a threat to environment, a committee of the former parliament had instructed the government to outlaw all crusher plants in the Chure region of the Tarai.
However, four months ago, three crusher plants came into operation right in the middle of the Kamala river. While Bijaya Mahato, who runs a crusher plant at Bandipur VDC-1, had taken permission for extracting stones from the District Development Office of (DAO) of Dhanusha, other two crusher plants had not taken permission from any government authority. Mahato´s permission, which is not for running excavators in the river, has also expired by now.
While the Local Self Governance Act-1999 does not allow anyone to operate excavators within 500 meters of the rivers in the Tarai, crusher plant operators have openly violated these provisions. They have not even had environment impact assessment (EIA) conducted before setting up crusher plants.
"Twice in the past, I had ordered the crusher plants in writing to close down," said Chief District Office of Siraha Anil Thakur. "But, my orders were not followed."
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