Villagers protest mining contract in M’garh, 14 booked

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, August 5

A significant numbers of protesters, mostly youngsters, of Raajavaas village have been camping on the foot of a hill here for the past two days against mining activities permitted by the government to a private contractor.

The villagers are carrying out night patrolling apprehending that the authorities may allow mining any day. The authorities have deployed police personnel near the mining site.

“Mining will pose a threat to the environment as contractor has been permitted to carry out blasts in this area. This has resulted in fear among villagers about damage to their houses due to the blasts,” said Vinay Kumar, a local resident.

Rammehar, another villager, said since the mining site was adjacent to the village, mining activities will not only adversely affect their farming prospects but also vitiate the environment as heavy trucks will ferry mining materials.

“We have decided not to allow mining activities here at any cost. The authorities have also been informed about the decision. Education Minister Rambilas Sharma will here tomorrow for a meeting in this context and people of seven nearby villages have also been invited, ” said Anish Kumar, another villager.

SDM Umed Mohan and DSP Om Prakash held parleys with the villagers yesterday but the outcome was inconclusive. The police have booked 14 villagers for pelting stones on police personnel when they went to the village to get possession of a mining site on Monday.