According to the Crusher Industry Licensing, Registration and Regulation Standards, 2080, crushers cannot be operated within 500 meters of a highway. In addition, there are provisions that the crusher should be 500 meters away from a river or riverbank and a paved bridge, and 2 kilometers away from dense human settlements.

However, violating these legal standards, the Sunny Crusher Industry has been operating illegally and unhindered for more than a decade near the bridge over the Gagan River on the East-West Highway in Dhangadhimai Municipality-7 of Siraha. The place where this crusher is located is densely populated.

Since this industry is against the standards, it cannot legally take electricity, nor has it taken it. However, the strange thing is that since it is not possible to take electricity in the name of this crusher, the electricity of the Chulachuli Gravel Sand Processing Industry registered in Ward No. 9 has been found to be being used illegally.

The Nepal Electricity Authority has installed a 250 kVA transformer, which is provided to large-capacity industries within the standards, for this crusher. In this way, granting permission to operate even when the standards are not met, connecting the electricity of an industry registered in one ward to another industry in another ward, and providing a transformer many times larger than its capacity, clearly shows the dishonesty of the government body.

At the Cottage and Small Industries Office, Lahan, Sunny Crusher Industry is registered in the name of Jayaprakash Karak of Siraha Madar and Chulaculi Gravel Sand Processing Industry is registered in the name of Sitaram Neupane of Hetauda. However, after buying them, both these industries have been run by Niraj Gautam of Dhanusha for the last 3 years.

Gautam claims that he was not aware that his crusher was illegal and that electricity could not be used in this way. ‘I did not know such things, I have been doing this for a long time,’ Gautam told Kantipur, ‘If it is wrong, I will close it.’

The noise coming from this crusher industry round the clock has been making repeated appeals to the local ward office, Nepal Electricity Authority and District Administration Office. Local Hareram Yadav had submitted a written complaint to these offices on October 23, covering all the issues.

However, Hareram complains that he has not been heard from anywhere and instead people have been threatening him. ‘When a citizen is in trouble, he should seek help from the state, that’s how I filed a complaint,’ he told Kantipur, ‘but the government agency didn’t listen to anything, instead I had to face threats.’

Not only the general public, but also local people’s representatives have written to the regulatory agency, but it is still running unhindered. Based on the complaints and grievances of the locals, Ward No. 7 Ward Chairman Vijay Kumar Mahato had sent a letter to the District Coordination Committee, Siraha, last October for necessary action.

However, Ward Chairman Mahato said that the letter has not been heard so far. ‘Many verbal and written complaints have been received from the general public regarding this crusher, after which I also sent a letter to the concerned agency,’ he said, ‘but, why is it, nothing has happened.’

When the locals did not listen to any pleas, a team from the Nepal Electricity Authority, Lahan, came to the crusher on Thursday after the locals threatened to come in front of the office and stage a sit-in. However, the team returned. Office chief Awadhesh Kumar Gupta claims that they returned after the Chief District Officer asked them not to cut off the electricity.