Palampur: Forest department demolished roads used for illegal mining
Himachal Pradesh: The Forest Department, in a major crackdown against mining mafia in Sulha area of Palampur on Thursday evening, demolished several illegal roads that had been constructed by cutting through forest land to reach Newgal, an important tributary of the Beas river. Heavy machinery, including JCBs, was deployed to break these illegal roads under the direct supervision of senior forest officials. The action was taken after repeated reports that the mafia, operating with alleged political backing, was exploiting the river in defiance of a blanket ban imposed by the state government and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The Newgal river is an important source of drinking water in the region, making unregulated mining even more worrisome. Local NGOs had long been raising concerns about how illegal mining was damaging public utilities, village paths, cremation grounds, waterways and even power installations.
Their fears were further confirmed when disturbing videos of mining in the river bed went viral on social media and sparked outrage. Divisional Forest Officer of Palampur, Sanjeev Sharma, told The Tribune that misuse of forest land for illegal mining will not be tolerated. “The mafia has destroyed the greenery by digging deep trenches in the forest. The police and the mining department will have to work together with us to tackle this problem effectively,” he said. He further said that the crackdown will continue. Residents of Sulha and Thural expressed relief, appreciating the bold move of the forest department. They said that apart from destroying the environment, this illegal trade is causing a loss of revenue worth crores of rupees annually to the state exchequer as no royalty is being paid on the lifted material. For now, the Nyagal river and its forests have got some relief. But the fight against the mafia is not over yet.
