Stone mafias damage Dhunkapada's sacred ecology
Amid allegations of unchecked illegal stone mining and heritage devastation, a powerful united voice has emerged from the grassroots. Villagers of Dhunkapada in Ganjam district, led by Arati Devi, the former Sarpanch who revolutionised the panchayat system in Odisha, are raising their voice against illegal stone mining.
Following an inquiry ordered by the State Revenue Minister into rampant stone mafia activities, a report was submitted by the district administration. But Arati alleged that the report was one-sided.
Arati has accused the stone mafia of not only destroying the ecological sanctity of five surrounding hills, but also crippling a lifeline she once built—a Rs 25 lakh reservoir and canal system that irrigated the fields of over 500 farming families. This heritage system, she says, now lies choked.
The flow of water from the reservoir to the agricultural fields has been diverted as the mafias have filled the canal with boulders to facilitate the movement of their trucks.
The once-sacred Giri Gobardhan temple, revered by local farmers, teeters on collapse, she alleges. The local farmers used to offer flattened rice and jaggery to Lord Giri Gobardhan with a belief that there will be rain to facilitate farming. The national bird peacock is dying under the impact of illegal blasting.
Arati and the villagers took up this issue with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at the Grievance Cell in Bhubaneswar. She demanded action within seven days or else she said they will stage an indefinite dharna at Raj Bhavan.
Her anguish was palpable as she recounted ecological destruction such as illegal blasts, dying peacocks and poached blackbuck calves which were once protected in this landscape.
'This isn't just about stones,' Arati Devi said. 'It's about the soul of our land. About our water, our wildlife, our worship and our farmers' future,' she said. The question looms: Will the Chief Minister act decisively. Or will the silence of the hills deepen into despair?
The fate of a community, its culture and its ecology hangs in the balance.
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