Vehicular movement on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu and the newly constructed JP Setu at Sonepur was affected for around one-and-half hours on Tuesday morning as sand mining industry employees staged road blockades over the new law banning sand mining during the monsoon months.
The sand workers say the new law has rendered thousands of workers jobless for months.
More than 500 sand workers staged a blockade at Govindchak area of Sonepur on NH-19 connecting Chhapra with Hajipur from 10.30am till 12noon.
'The road blockade was lifted after police reached the spot. The road was cleared by the afternoon,' said Sonepur sub-divisional magistrate Sudhir Kumar.
The blockade affected traffic on the two bridges over the Ganga.
Arvind Kumar, who was crossing JP Setu in his car, said: 'Though there was no road blockade at JP Setu, but from Sonepur (Govindchak) area there was a long queue of vehicles moving at a snail's pace.'
Sand workers also blocked the road at Chailachowk in Hajipur.
Babita Kumari, a teacher who had to go to her school in Vaishali district, had to return home to Patna as no vehicle could pass through the route.
'Today I had Teachers' Day function in my school, but I could not reach school due to traffic jam,' she said.
The workers were protesting the new sand mining law - framed as per the directions of the Supreme Court - which bans mining from July to September.
Satish Kumar Singh, joint secretary in the state mines and geology department, explained: 'As per the law, mining at riverbeds is prohibited during monsoon from July 1 to September 30. Also labourers can dig only up to 3 metres, but many a times sand is dug to a depth of 8 to 10 metres inviting hazards. Also, up to 100 cubic feet sand can be transported in an open tractor but many a times labourers transport around 150 cubic feet of sand in connivance with local police and mining officials.'
Since July, the state government has tightened the screws on illegal sand mining.
K.K. Pathak - who has the reputation of being a tough, no-nonsense officer - was last month appointed as principal secretary of the mines and geology department to implement the mining laws strictly.
Sand workers' unions claimed that the state policy had rendered many people jobless for months.
'They don't have money even for their daily needs,' said Gopal Singh, vice-president of the Bihar sand workers and boatmen welfare association. He warned of a state-wide agitation on September 11 against the government's sand mining policy.
