‘Miscreants’ continue to lift, transport soil from Sopore canal

Sopore, Nov 4: Miscreants under the nose of administration continue to lift and transport the soil in north Kashmir’s Sopore area while authorities have failed to stop the illegal excavation from the canal with officials saying that they have ordered to stop the work a week ago.
Residents said that soil excavation and its smuggling from the Lalad Amargrah (Khrusi Nallah) have been resumed again in gloominess of nights which otherwise was stopped by the Block, Sangrama after a notice was served to them by Irrigation department, Sopore following the fact that the canal bed have been disturbed to great extent.
They said that the illegal smuggling of soil from the canal has restarted again in the darkness of night’s right under the nose of the administration. “The soil lifters are a hand in glove of the government officials”, they alleged.
Illegal excavation is going unchecked as hundreds of tractors laden with soil are being smuggled every passing day. “Soil excavation has posed a threat to the canal bed and a road parallel to it”, they added.
Soil excavation has created a death bed ‘Dead Storage’ and there are concerns of a wall and a road being damaged by it, said a local Abdul Hameed. “Dead storage created can be dangerous for both the livestock as well as for children passing through the road parallel to the canal”, Hameed added.
An official at the irrigation and flood control department, Sopore said that there was a de-silting of Lalad Amargrah Khul and after observing that the contractor is working in night hours, they felt that the continuous extraction of soil it can lead to damage of the canal bed and a road parallel to it. “So we have asked the executing agency to stop its silting,” he said.
Contractor, Nazir Ahmed alias Setha Wani who was given a task of de-silting said that he has stopped the work but will do it again and no one can stop him. “I will resume the work soon,” he said.
Meanwhile, when contacted the concerned BDO Jaleel Ahmed said that he had already asked the contractor to stop the work a week. “I have called him to the office and warned him of refraining from doing so”, the BDO said “If the contractor continues to lift soil, funds won’t be released in favour of him.”