Villagers stop illegal sand extraction at Orlim

Villagers stop illegal sand extraction at Orlim
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JAN 25
The South Goa flying squad on Tuesday rushed to Orlim village following complaints from local villagers of sand extraction near the Orlim bridge.
The flying squad led by Francisco D’Souza found sand dumped on the banks of River Sal under the bridge.
The flying squad promised the local villagers that they would submit a report to the Deputy Collector, Margao for further action.
The flying squad made their presence felt near the Orlim bridge after members of Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch noticed sand extraction activity during the last few days. They pointed out that the sand was being clandestinely lifted away from the spot by trucks at odd hours, raising suspicions on the activity.
Initially, the flying squad maintained that they are supposed to only attend to illegal land filling and hill cutting activity. But, when questioned by the activists, the squad, which came within an hour of intimation to the district collector, promised to inform the collectorate on the next course of action.
OGRM President Shanti Fortes informed that the activists will be maintaining a vigil at the spot till action comes from the authorities.
When contacted, deputy Collector Johnson Fernandes said he has asked the flying squad to forward the report to the Director of Mines for further action. “Illegal sand extraction comes within the domain of the Directorate of Mines. I have asked the flying squad to forward the sand extraction report to the Mines Director for further action”, Johnson added.