Mining mafia rebuilds road to Neugal riverbed

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Palampur, February 10

A month after the local administration along with the police and the Mining Department dismantled a road leading to the illegal mining site on the Neugal riverbed, the mafia has reconstructed it.

Official sources told The Tribune that last month Dheera SDM Ashish Kumar with the help of the police had dismantled this illegally constructed road leading to the riverbed, but the mining mafia restored it recently and started the illegal activity. This road was constructed in the forestland to help heavy vehicles such as tippers and JCB machines reach the riverbed. As soon as the villagers came to know that the road had been reconstructed by filling the deep trenches, they lodged protests and reported the matter to the police and the Mining Department.

Ashwani Gautam and Varun Bhuria, members of NGO “Save Environment Save Neugal River”, who have launched a campaign against the illegal mining in the riverbed, said it was not possible for the mining mafia to reconstruct the road on the forestland without the help of the Forest and Mining Departments. Both the departments failed to maintain a vigil and allowed the mafia to flourish, they added.

They said the mafias had constructed a number of roads on forest and government lands, but these were not built in a day. It obviously took several days, raising eyebrows about the role of both the departments. They urged Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan to initiate action against the erring officials of the Mining Department, who failed to check the illegal activity in the Neugal.

There is a complete ban on mining in the Neugal riverbed, but the activity is going on a large scale daily. The National Green Tribunal and the Himachal Pradesh High Court had also taken cognisance of the illegal mining in the Neugal, but the authorities have failed to act.

The Dheera SDM said, “I will look into the matter. If the illegal road has been rebuilt by the mining mafia, it will be dismantled again. No illegal mining will be allowed in the Neugal and no one will be spared. Cases under sections of the IPC and the Mining Act will be registered against the violators.”