Bhoa: Mining hub battles ecological woes

Ravi Dhaliwal

Bhoa has gained infamy for being the epicentre of mining-legal and illegal. For decades, outsiders have exploited the Ravi and Ujh rivers to the hilt. This means the ecological balance of the area has got imbalanced to the extent where it has reached a point of no return.

Past trend

Before delimitation in 2012, the segment was known as Narot Mehra. Seema Kumar of the BJP was the first-ever MLA of the rechristened Bhoa constituency. Since 1985, the Congress and BJP have been winning the seat alternatively.

Electorate strength

Total voter - 1,70,908

Male - 89,942

Female - 80,965

Third gender - 1

Locals’ key demands

• 50-bed hospital
• Curbs on illegal mining
• Re-carpeting of roads
• Government co-ed college

Sample Maira Kalan village on the banks of the Ravi. Rampant mining has ensured that the water table of the area has fallen to such low levels that villagers have to go the neighbouring village of Kirri Khurd to get their daily supply of potable water.

Enter sitting Congress MLA Joginder Pal. He is loved by the youth because he often squares off with the powerful bureaucracy. His verbal skirmishes with officers are recounted by the local youth.

There are just two community health centres in Bhoa. Residents say a 50-bedded hospital is the need of the hour. “Ever since Joginder Pal was elected as an MLA, no school has been upgraded,” says Seema Kumari. “We need a sugar mill but the legislator pays no heed to us,” says Lachman Singh, a sugarcane farmer.

Residents say till illegal mining business is curbed, and sanity restored, they will have to live in appalling conditions.