Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67eff735123c7-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67eff735123c7-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67eff735123c7-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
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		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says..."/>
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                <strong>Sand Pit Warriors -Moumita Chaudhuri</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&rdquo; Roy adds.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&rsquo; Old Age Pension,&rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.</p><p style="text-align:justify">In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &mdash; all in Birbhum district.&rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.</p><p style="text-align:justify">He says, &ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&rdquo;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;,
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says..."/>
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                <strong>Sand Pit Warriors -Moumita Chaudhuri</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&rdquo; Roy adds.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&rsquo; Old Age Pension,&rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.</p><p style="text-align:justify">In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &mdash; all in Birbhum district.&rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.</p><p style="text-align:justify">He says, &ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&rdquo;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;-The Telegraph

The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Sand Pit Warriors -Moumita Chaudhuri&#039;,
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	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 17 July, 2022, https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&#039;,
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&amp;rsquo;s determination to save its environs&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&amp;rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &amp;ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&amp;rdquo; Roy adds.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&amp;rsquo; Old Age Pension,&amp;rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &amp;ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&amp;rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &amp;ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &amp;mdash; all in Birbhum district.&amp;rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;He says, &amp;ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot; title=&quot;https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to read more.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs

Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says..."/>
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                <p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs</em></p><p style="text-align:justify">Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&rdquo; Roy adds.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&rsquo; Old Age Pension,&rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.</p><p style="text-align:justify">In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.</p><p style="text-align:justify">Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &mdash; all in Birbhum district.&rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.</p><p style="text-align:justify">He says, &ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&rdquo;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091" title="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>               </font>
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		'description' => '<p style="text-align:justify">-The Telegraph</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&rdquo; Roy adds.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&rsquo; Old Age Pension,&rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &mdash; all in Birbhum district.&rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">He says, &ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&rdquo;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>
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<p style="text-align:justify"><em>The Telegraph reports on a riverine community&rsquo;s determination to save its environs</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,&rdquo; says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. &ldquo;That was way back in 1949-50,&rdquo; Roy adds.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&ldquo;Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers&rsquo; Old Age Pension,&rdquo; says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. &ldquo;Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,&rdquo; says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, &ldquo;Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka &mdash; all in Birbhum district.&rdquo; Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">He says, &ldquo;When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.&rdquo;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Please <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/sand-pit-warriors-a-report-on-a-riverine-communitys-determination-to-save-its-environs/cid/1875091">click here</a> to read more.&nbsp;</p>
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Sand Pit Warriors -Moumita Chaudhuri

-The Telegraph The Telegraph reports on a riverine community’s determination to save its environs Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,” says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three kilometres in breadth and 18 kilometres in length, it is in the basin of the Damodar river. “That was way back in 1949-50,” Roy adds. Today, Manachar is a full-fledged village of 35,000 people; 10,500 of them have voting rights. Administratively in Bankura district, it shares a border with Burdwan. The Congress-led Bengal government had given pattas or deeds to these people in 1969-70. In 1990, says Roy, the Left Front government cancelled these deeds, started a designated department for rehabilitation of the refugees, which in turn issued fresh deeds. According to these deeds, Manachar residents were given nine bighas (one bigha equals 0.62 acres) of agricultural land and one bigha to build a house on. It was stipulated that this land could not be sold for the next 10 years, after which the deeds would have to be registered. “Thirty-two years have passed, but our deeds have not been registered. We cannot avail of central schemes such as Kisan Credit Card and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and state schemes such as Krishak Bandhu and West Bengal Farmers’ Old Age Pension,” says Roy, who used to work in a private company in Calcutta. In the meantime, illegal sand mining became rampant in Manachar. “Small trucks started coming in from 2010-2011 and carried away sand from the riverbed. But in 2012, it became a big affair,” says Roy. Boring machines fixed onto boats started digging deeper. The locals went to the police, but the mining continued. Kunal Deb, who is an environmental activist, says, “Thousands of trucks move in and out of Birbhum daily, loaded with sand stolen from the sandbars of rivers Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Bakreshwar, Dwarka — all in Birbhum district.” Deb works largely in the Malharpur area of Birbhum district. He talks about rivulets and distributaries that have turned as narrow as drains because of indiscriminate sand mining activities. He says, “When machines are used to mine sand, it creates deep wells in the middle of the sandbars. These are dangerous. When floods or flash floods happen, people get trapped in them and die. These obstruct the free flow of the river as well, because of which the alluvial soil does not settle down. After a flood, it becomes a sandy, infertile tract of land.” Please click here to read more.