Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 12: Mining workers across the region are finding it hard to live on after the March 31, 2016 government ban on excavation of minor minerals like sand and gravel from rivers. They are the primary targets of the ban and have started suffering due to lack of food because they are virtually left with no money to feed their families.
Before the ban, which was imposed during Governor Rule under SRO 105, PrabhuDyal of Sidhra used to earn Rs 150 or so daily by collecting and loading sand and gravel in tractor-trollies and tippers.
"The ban has snatched the only source of livelihood from me and left me unemployed. I don't have any work to do now," he lamented.
Like Prabhu, there are several others who are virtually left unemployed and are on the verge of facing starvation.
Surinder, Vijay, Kukku and Arshad are, however, lucky enough to have got jobs in different shops in Jammu city. Others, including Prabhu, are, however, not so lucky.
While stone crusher owners association (SCOA) has termed the ban as anti-people and requested the Mehbooba-led PDP-BJP coalition government to immediately revoke it, chamber of commerce and industry, the representative body of businessmen in Jammu, is yet to wake up and extend its support to the association.
SCOA president VikramRandhawa has termed the ban as 'dictatorial', saying it had badly affected the stone crusher industry and the progress of ongoing government and private construction works in the region.
Describing the ban as anti-industry, he called upon the chief minister, the deputy chief minister and the industries minister to come to their rescue by revoking SRO-105.
Randhawa said the BJP-PDP government must act to lessen the miseries of owners of stone crushers, their employees and mining workers.
Official sources said the building material suppliers, who had sand and masonry stones in stock, were selling them on higher rates.
The government's alleged arbitrary ban had also resulted in loss to the state exchequer, the sources added.
In 2012 also, then district magistrate, Jammu, in exercise of powers vested on him under section 144 of CrPC, had imposed ban on the extraction of minor minerals from rivers and also from the areas 150 mt upstream and 100 mt downstream of culverts, causeways over local nullahs for two months. The ban was imposed to keep a check on the uncontrolled extraction of minor minerals from local rivers including Tawi, nullah near Sidhrabye-pass bridge,JajjarNullah, KattalBattal, particularly in close vicinity of motorable and railway bridges to avoid damages to the basements and super-structure of these bridges. |
