Unabated stone blasting a bane for residents in Odisha’s Soro

Alleged rampant blasting of stone in Sarisua Hill under Balasore’s Soro block has made nearby villages uninhabitable. The locals alleged that the stone blasting on the hill is carried out illegally right under the nose of the administration.

As per reports, the Sarisua Hill standing on the border of Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts once had a green top. But stone blasting from it for the last few months has made it bald and almost half of the hill has been cut off by the mafias and converted to stones.

Sources said the mafias are using wagon drilling machines to break the hills open and carve out stones. The severe vibrations from the machines are resulting in cracks in the nearby houses.

Not only stone blasting but the crusher units near the villages have made the air polluted. The dust from it has reportedly made the air difficult to breathe.

“We have been protesting the stone blasting for many months, but they are not listening to us. Our houses are damaged. Government officials sometimes come here and return soon. There is nobody to control the stone mafias here,” said a local villager.

“The mafias are telling us all the stone blasting here is a legal business, they are lying. Otherwise, the district administration would not have seized their trucks and stopped their work multiple times, though momentarily,” he said.

Another villager said, “Not only stone blasting, but the crusher machines also added to our woes. The dust from the crusher units has made our villages almost inhabitable.”