Kothagudem: Rajupet villagers stage rasta-roko to protest against dust pollution

Residents of Rajupet in Manugur Municipality staged a rasta-roko by pitching a tent on the main road leading to sand reaches of the Godavari and nearby opencast mines. The protest, which began Thursday night, was against the dust pollution caused by hundreds of coal and sand trucks passing through the village.

Kothagudem: The residents of Rajupet in Manugur Municipality of the district staged a rasta-roko by pitching a tent on the road that connects to sand reaches of the river Godavari and opencast mines protesting against the pollution caused by sand and coal trucks.

The villagers have been camping on the road by setting up a tent since Thursday night. They complained that hundreds of trucks were passing through the village and making them sick due to the dust. Despite several appeals the authorities failed to pay attention to their problem.

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About 200 trucks were stranded on either side of the village road due to the protest. The truck drivers and cleaners suffered due to the protest as they could not get food and drinking water on Thursday.

The TGMDC Project Officer G Shankar, SCCL officials and the local police reached the village and spoke to the villagers on Friday evening. They appealed to them to withdraw their stir but the villagers insisted that the road should be diverted away from the village. The protest continued even after late evening hours until the last reports came in.