Task force to be formed after death of workers in Jajpur

Jajpur: The Jajpur district administration will constitute a task force to crack the whip on illegal stone quarries in the district, days after the death of two workers at a quarry here.

"We are going to form a task force headed by Jajpur sub-collector. It will have officials from mining, forest, pollution control board and police. Local tehsildar will also be a part of it," Jajpur district Collector Ranjan Kumar Das said.

The task force will conduct raids on illegal and unauthorised stone quarries functioning under Dharmasala tehsil limits in the district, Das said.

The move comes after two persons died and another suffered injuries while working at a black stone quarry in Jabara Hill on Sunday.

The collector said that the task force will also look into the safety measures in quarries leased out by the district administration.

The task force will ensure that only legalised and authorised stone quarries are operational with all safety measures, he said.

"The illegal crushing units are procuring smuggled raw materials from unauthorised black stone quarry operators. As a result, such quarries are mushrooming in Dharmasala tehsil areas. We will dismantle all illegal stone crushing units from there," Das said.