‘Illegal’ mining irks Maloh village residents

Our Correspondent

Sundernagar, January 18

Residents of Maloh village near Sundernagar are facing a lot of trouble due to illegal mining going on in this village continuously for the past few months.

According to local residents, a large number of trucks, tractor-trailers and tippers loaded with stones can be seen moving on the Maloh-Sundernagar Road daily and most of the times traffic jams are observed on this road. Furthermore, mining operations are going on without any permission. Heavy machinery can be seen engaged in mining operation throughout the day.

Local residents said mining was being done in an unscientific manner which was causing damage to the ecology.

Talking to this correspondent, local residents Roop Lal, Sheeela Devi, Man Singh, Nand Lal and Pardeep Kumar said they had written to various departments and the Chief Minister’s office but still illegal mining was going on unchecked. Last year during the rainy season, a flood-like situation was observed in this area due to illegal mining as the debris used to block the natural draining system.