Locals, led by Dharan-17-based Dandaghopa Namuna Marg Area Development Association, have stopped the excavation in the Sardu river area on May 26. The locals are angry that the sub-metropolitan government, which used to stop the locals from picking stones and mixing ballast in the past, has now exploited the resource by giving a contract.

Chairman of Dandaghopa Namuna Community Forest Sivan Kumar Rai also expressed dissatisfaction over the contract without coordination with the Forest Office. Chairman Rai said that the forest and settlements would also be damaged due to indiscriminate excavation.