Up in arms, residents of Mand area demand no mining zone

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, August 13

Up in arms over mining (legal and illegal) in the inter-state Mand area of Indora and Fatehpur subdivisions in Kangra district, residents have demanded the government to declare the area a mining-free zone.

In a memorandum submitted to the Indora SDM on Monday, the residents have demanded either to declare the Mand area, adjoining the Beas, a mining-free zone or shift them to safer places by providing them government land and monetary support.

The residents lamented that last year’s monsoon fury had wreaked havoc on their agricultural land, houses and other public property. They held the rampant mining activities responsible for flashfloods in the areas adjoining the Beas.

President of Mand Area Environment Protection Samiti Balbir Singh, who is spearheading the drive against mining activities in the Beas, told The Tribune that last year, hundreds of the Mand area residents were marooned in flashfloods and 819 residents were airlifted, crops on 3,024 hectares were damaged and 175 hectares of agricultural land had turned barren.

“Apart from private properties, government properties, including 99 electricity poles and 35 transformers, were damaged. Besides, a loss of Rs 1.58 crore had been assessed to the Public Works Department and Rs 16.65-crore loss to Shah Nehar canal project in the area,” he said.

He said mining activities in the Beas had affected 15 gram panchayats, with around 80,000 population, of the Mand area. If mining activities were not stopped, flood fury would wreak havoc in every monsoon, he added.

Meanwhile, residents of Malkana, Ghandran, Miani-Manjwah, Sanor, Paral and Dhasoli in Indora subdivision also held a demonstration at Paral in support of their demand for a no mining zone. They also raised the demand to not permit setting up of new stone crushers in the area.

Memorandum submitted to SDM

• In a memorandum submitted to the SDM Indora on Monday, the residents have demanded either to declare the Mand area, adjoining the Beas, a mining-free zone or shift them to safer places
• The residents lamented that last year's monsoon fury had wreaked havoc with their agricultural land, houses and other public property. They held the rampant mining activities responsible for flashfloods
• Hundreds of the mand area residents were marooned in flashfloods and 819 residents were airlifted, crops on 3,024 hectares had damaged and 175 hectares of agricultural land had turned barren