Palampur: Villagers protest ‘govt inaction’ on illegal mining in Neugal river

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, July 2

Villagers of the Batthan panchayat of Thural subdivision today called upon Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa and demanded action against mining mafia that is active in Neugal river.

The villagers lodged a strong protest over the attitude of the police and the Mining Department, which they said had turned a blind eye to the menace.

LIFELINE OF LOCALS

• Neugal river in Kangra valley is considered the lifeline of people since the IPH Department has tapped water from this river for over 100 drinking and irrigation supply schemes, but due to the illegal mining, many irrigation schemes have already gone dry
• The illegal practice has not only created environmental imbalances, but also caused a huge loss to the state exchequer. Unscientific mining and quarrying has resulted in flashfloods, large-scale deforestation and landslides
• Over 25,000 hectares of land has been affected by mining, quarrying and other activities in the lower areas of Palampur, resulting in drastic reshaping of landscape

Panchayat Pradhan Seema Devi and up-Pradhan Sat Pal, who headed the delegation of villagers, told the Deputy Commissioner that despite the National green Tribunal’s (NGT) ban on illegal mining in the Neugal river, the practice was going on unabated in the region.

The villagers said the use of JCB machines for mining was banned in the state, but the mining mafia had pressed these machines in rivers for the past one year under the nose of the authorities concerned. The villagers said large-scale mining had made their lives miserable as they could not sleep, children were unable to study and pollution had also increased manifold.

Panchayat representatives said roads, irrigation channels, cremation grounds and village pastures had been destroyed due to the continuous mining in the area. The PWD, IPH, Revenue and Forest Departments remain mute spectators and have failed to initiate any action against the culprits.

“Despite repeated complaints and protests lodged by local residents before the authorities, no action was taken against the mining mafia and the practice has flourished in the area,” said a villager.

Neugal river is considered the lifeline of people since the IPH Department has tapped water from this river for over 100 drinking and irrigation supply schemes, but due to the illegal mining, many irrigation schemes have already gone dry.

The illegal practice has not only created environmental imbalances, but also caused a huge loss to the state exchequer. Unscientific mining and quarrying has resulted in flashfloods, large-scale deforestation and landslides.

Official sources confirmed that over 25,000 hectares of land had been affected by mining, quarrying and other activities in the lower areas of Palampur, resulting in drastic reshaping of landscape.