Other States - Madhya Pradesh   

Special drive to curb gem stone smuggling

SAMBALPUR, NOV. 4 . Smuggling of gems stones from the western Orissa districts has become a flourishing and lucrative trade over the years in view of high value of the stones in the international market.

Businessmen from different parts of the country, with the help of local brokers, are often seen camping at Deogarh, Rairakhol, Nuapara, Kantabanji, Bhawanipatan, Jharsuguda and all other places in western Orissa in search of gem stone deposits to extract the precious stones.

They undertake the job easily through the local labourers who keep it secret against a good payment.

Even the local Sarpanch and the ward members have in many places extended support to the businessmen. As a result the gem stone business hardly comes to public notice.

But the police in western Orissa have recently taken a special drive to save the precious property of the state from the smugglers.

A recent drive under the direction of Deputy Inspector General of Police (northen range) Pranabindu Acharya to nab the gem stone smugglers has led to several successes.

The police have recently arrested 13 people from Deogarh and Kantabanji areas and recovered gem stones worth Rs 6 lakhs from the possession of Mahul Agrawal and Rajkumar Agrawal of Kantabanjhi.

According to Mr Acharaya, in majority of the cases the businessmen of Kantabanjhi are masterminding extraction of gem stones from inaccessible areas.

Prominent among the stones extracted from western districts are Garnet, Cat's Eye, Ruby, Iolite, Soberil, Corundum, Alexander, Topaz, Quartz, Neelam, Kakaneli and a number of other varieties.

In some places, the highly-coveted Diamonds are also available. They are found in large quantity in the Mahanadi river bed.

The DIG said plans are afoot to involve forest, revenue and mining department officials to chalk out an action plan to stop such illegal business.

He said the police would further intensify the drive to curb smuggling in the entire western Orissa.

UNI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Entertainment |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Special drive to curb gem stone smuggling
Faheem murder accused nabbed

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu