‘Outsiders grabbed local resources’: Apni Party on mining

Termed as a proxy of the BJP by opposition parties, the Apni Party has raised concerns about spread of mining mafia in parts of Samba district “under the political patronage of the saffron party”.

Apni Party’s candidate from the Vijaypur Assembly constituency and provincial president Manjit Singh has said: “The mining mafia, including mostly outsiders, has become so powerful that the authorities do not question their illegal actions and loot of the resources. It has snatched employment from the local youth.”

Alleging that the police and administration had apparently become silent spectators, Manjit Singh claimed no action was being taken against the mafia. Livelihood of local youth had been snatched by the mining mafia, claimed the Apni Party leader.

He asked the authorities to protect the ecology of the local area from the mafia.

“There is no accountability. The youth, who were earlier working at local mining blocks, have become unemployed,” he said.

“The authorities did nothing to grant them permission for mining. However, outsiders have grabbed the local resources with the help of the authorities,” he said, adding that the Apni Party would not tolerate exploitation of resources and harassment of local youth by the police and the administration.

“Thousands have lost employment and are facing starvation-like situation. This happened after the authorities allowed allotment of mining blocks to outsiders,” alleged the Apni Party candidate.