The state BJP is going to organize a movement against the sand mafia, who are allegedly digging up sand from the Damodar river basin, across the state. BJP state general secretary and MLA Agnimitra Paul said that these sand mafia are active in several districts, including Burdwan, Hooghly, Bankura, Howrah, Purulia and wherever the river flows.

Yesterday, she visited Baruipur in West Burdwan to inspect a rail bridge and expressed her severe displeasure over the dumping of sand and alleged illegal sand mining along the Damodar river stretch. She lambasted a private company that is engaged in picking up sand from the river.

“Around 800 to 1,000 trucks are being loaded with sand on a regular basis. This illegal sand mining is causing the direction of the river to change and could impact human lives. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her government is answerable for these illegal activities,” she said. Mrs Paul also mentioned that three persons were killed by trucks, and the company cheated the family members by providing cheques that bounced.

“Even the rail bridge will be affected if sand mining continues this way. These are not isolated incidents. Bridges and human lives are under threat across the Damodar river. I shall raise the issue in the Assembly. Our party will organize a bigger movement,” she said.

Meanwhile, BJP also raised issue as for almost three months, the Matla Bridge in Canning has been shrouded in darkness and allegedly helping criminals to organise crime in connivance with police. The Matla Bridge is one of the important bridges to enter Sunderbans, is the connection bridge between Canning and Basanti, which has been without illumination for several days. Local residents are angry. Senior BJP leader and Diamond Harbour MP candidate Abhijit Das claimed that this darkness has led to an increase in criminal activities in the area over the past few days. According to Canning police sources, a large quantity of marijuana was seized during a search operation on the road adjacent to this bridge a few days ago. Trucks illegally carrying Bangladesh hilsa fish, which use this bridge to travel to Kolkata, were also caught by the Canning police. “This bridge is extremely important. Thousands of people use this bridge everyday. But as soon as evening falls, the bridge is completely dark, and criminals take advantage of this situation. Immediate steps should be taken to restore the lighting on the bridge,” Abhijit Das said.

Local sources reported that the former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee inaugurated this bridge in January 2011. The bridge connects the two blocks of Canning and Basanti. People from Basanti, Gosaba, and Canning block II, as well as many people from neighbouring areas like Sandeshkhali and Hingalganj in North 24-Parganas district, use this bridge daily to connect with Kolkata. Local residents have noted that such an important bridge has been in darkness after sunset for nearly three months. Abhijit claimed that criminals easily escape after committing crimes due to the bridge’s location between the Canning and Basanti police station areas. The electricity department has not provided a satisfactory answer regarding why the bridge’s lights are off. A senior official of Canning sub-division electricity department, said, “I cannot say exactly why the lights on the Matla Bridge are off.” He added, “Despite pending dues, we have not disconnected the supply, considering the inconvenience to the public.”