SHILLONG:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and member of district council (MDC) from Tura, Bernard N Marak, has alleged that many illegal stone quarries are operating in the Pipulbari areas of East Garo Hills and overloaded trucks hauling stones ply freely through the town at night.
“Illegal quarries run freely in the plain areas and these stones are exported to Bangladesh with a ‘goonda tax’ of Rs 2,500 per truck,” he said, adding that these trucks ply without proper challans and police too turn a blind eye to them owing to involvement of some “high-level” people, he said on Sunday.
“Surely, some high-level people are benefitting from these quarries and illegal transportation,” he alleged, adding that this has caused inconvenience to the public, including risk of life and delay in development of the area, apart from the government losing huge sums of revenue.
He said that many roads in the town bear the brunt of these overloaded trucks. “The Tura-Dalu Road, the roads near the Civil Surgeon’s office in Tura up to Babupara, are badly affected because of the plying of these overloaded trucks,” he said.
Marak said that if these activities were not checked, they would be left with no option but to move the high court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). “If such activities are not stopped by the government, the Hon’ble Court is our last hope,” he said.