Urlabari, Dec.20: Local youth of Letang-8, in Morang district, have halted loaders and tippers from entering the Teli River, alleging that construction materials were being extracted illegally from the river. 

After realising that the operators of the crusher industries were extracting the construction materials from the river, calling them stock items without paying taxes, a group of locals gathered at  Sirijanga Chowk and halted all tipper trucks from entering the river.

Last year, Letang Municipality granted a contract to a crusher industry through a tender process to extract sand and stones from the Teli River. After awarding the contract, the municipality published a public notice on August 23 this year calling for the verification of the stock of riverbed materials, extracted from the river.

In the public notice, the municipality stated that the verified stocked materials should be cleared by mid-November. Otherwise, the excavated materials could be confiscated.

However, the locals have protested after the crusher operators continued excavating the construction materials from the river and loading them onto tipper trucks even after mid-December. 

On the other hand, Bhim Paudel, the owner of the crusher company that obtained the river contract, said that they were selling stock materials as per the new law introduced by the Koshi Provincial Government. 

He mentioned that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stock materials had not been sold. 

Additionally, he highlighted that the municipality did not have any law relating to the sale of old stock of the riverbed materials. 

Following the enactment of the new lay by the Provincial Government permitting the sale of stock materials by paying Rs. 20 per cubic meter, they had started transporting the stocked materials accordingly, he added. 

According to Paudel, three companies, Pathibhara, Om, and Shri Nirman Sewa, have been granted contracts to extract riverbed materials from the Chisang River and Teli River.

Paudel mentioned, “For the financial year 2022-23, we have been awarded the contracts at the cost of Rs. 61 million, Rs. 122.5 million for the fiscal year 2020/21, and Rs. 140.2 million for the financial year 2019/20.”

He further said “We have invested millions of rupees. We should be permitted to conduct our business. We have fulfilled all the legal formalities and started transporting the construction materials from the river,” he added.

According to Paudel, 300,000 cubic metres of riverbed materials are in the stock in the Teli River and 125,000 cubic meters in the Chisang River.

However, Punya Sapkota, a local alleged that the materials were being excavated from the river without paying the requisite taxes. 

Nanda Kishore Niraula from Letang-9 mentioned that there was no visible stock of the riverbed materials at present. 

But the tipper trucks are reportedly concealing the stones with sand and gravel, and move towards the southern direction, he added.

On the other hand, the Chief Administrative Officer of Letang Municipality, Narayan Neupane, said that following the businessmen’s assertion that the stock could not be cleared until the construction work commences, the municipality arranged to allow the contractors to sell the existing stock until the new contract for the river is opened.

Neupane mentioned that the decision was reached during the executive meeting held on November 10.