Residents protest move to notify Pong wetland eco-sensitive zone

Our Correspondent

Nurpur, December 26

With the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest issuing a draft notification declaring one-kilometre area from the boundaries of the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kangra district as an eco-sensitive zone, hundreds of affected residents of 52 gram panchayats of different Assembly constituencies of Kangra district organised a protest rally at Nagrota Surian today.

What will change

• Commercial activities like construction of hotels and resorts or any polluting industry will not be allowed in eco-sensitive zone
• Setting up of electricity or communication towers will be prohibited
• Saw mills, brick-kilns or commercial use of firewood will be banned
• Dehra MLA says thousands of villages in Kangra will be affected if the notification is implemented

People assembled at the Nagrota Surian bus stand on a call given by Dehra MLA Hoshiar Singh who had earlier raised the backlash of this draft notification in the Assembly on December 20.

Sanjay Guleria, BJP leader of Jawali Assembly constituency, also participated in the protest rally.

The residents living within the one-km radius of the wetland and Pong Dam oustees raised their voice against the draft notification and appealed to the state government to raise their concern before the Union Government with a demand to de-notify the draconian notification with immediate effect.

Addressing the gathering, MLA Hoshiar Singh said the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had sought objections from residents of 52 affected villages on April 28, 2022, for creating eco-sensitive zone, but no gram panchayat had been informed on the issue. He said the proposed zone would be a major roadblock in the development of the area.

“The affected people can’t undertake any construction or commercial activity in the area and will be deprived of employment opportunities. Apart from this, the state government will also face difficulties in providing basic facilities such as roads, electricity and water supply to people living in the eco-sensitive zone,” he lamented.

The Dehra legislator also announced to visit affected villages and collect objection letters from its residents and submit the same to the state and central governments demanding immediate withdrawal of draft notification.

He said if this zone was not de-notified, the affected people would be forced to come on the streets against it.

Meanwhile, Guleria said the matter would be taken up with BJP national

president Jagat Prakash Nadda and Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

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