Illegal mining menace goes on unabated in Neugal

Our Correspondent

Palampur, July 19

After a long gap, illegal mining has again picked up in the Neugal in lower areas of Palampur. The river is considered as the lifeline of over 100 villages in Palampur. It feeds dozens of drinking water and irrigation supply schemes in Palampur and Thural divisions of the Irrigation of Public Health Department. Palampur, Maranda, Bhawarna, Daroh and many other villages in lower Palampur also get drinking water from this river.

Illegal mining below Paror Bridge has become a matter of concern. State agencies have failed to check illegal mining here, which has resulted in large-scale environmental degradation.

Dozens of tractor trailers can be seen extracting mining material from the Neugal.

Residents complained that the level of the Neugal had gone down by 5-7 ft because of the large-scale extraction of stone and sand using heavy machinery. They said village paths leading to the riverbed, local water sources and cremation grounds had suffered extensive damage.

A number of complaints have been made but the authorities are paying no heed, they said.