Jamshedpur, June 29: Local residents in a joint petition to the deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum today registered a complaint against an engineering unit for blocking a public road and a drain at Mangal Colony in Dimna Bustee along NH-33 in Mango.

As the deputy commissioner was not in his office, they submitted the petition with the office of additional deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar.

The residents said they were wary as the engineering concern, MW Industries, which is on an expansion spree, has allegedly been trying to intimidate them (the residents) for buying out their houses.

Besides, a nullah that has been partially blocked due to construction of a compound wall by the company management in its pursuit of expansion, has now started causing health problems, they said.

The nullah, which originates from Dalma hills, passes through Kumrum Bustee, Jharkhand Bustee and Dimna Bustee. But blocking the nullah has led to water stagnation at a number of places, leading to the breeding of mosquitoes and spread of water-borne diseases.

About 110 protesters today asked the administration for a remedial measure to preserve hygiene at Mangal Colony.

Resident Bateswar Pandey said: “Earlier the area was neat and clean, but ever since the nullah was blocked, water-logging problems cropped up. Now, we have to cope with the mosquito menace.”

He pointed out that earlier the company was confined to two-and-a-half acres, but within a year the company management had acquired more land by buying out the tribals.

Within a year, the company has acquired three additional acres and continues to expand.

However, factory owner Saheed Khan said there was nothing illegal about expanding his factory.

“I am trying to ensure that the nullah water may flow without disruptions. I have already begun negotiations with the local residents,” he said.

The additional deputy commissioner, Rakesh Kumar, said there was nothing alarming in the petition.

But he was looking into the matter through the officer concerned of Mango Notified Area committee, he said.