Farmers protest against illegal mining, official negligence for loss of fertile land
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, farmers from around ten villages in Chadoora subdivision of Budgam staged a protest against the destruction of three irrigation channels emerging from the Doodh Ganga stream, warning that over 3,000 kanals of fertile agricultural land would be directly affected if the canals were not restored before March next year.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the farmers, who gathered near the Doodh Ganga stream, said the channels—Kralpur Kul, Masar Kul and Doyan Kul—had been washed away during recent floods due to massive erosion caused by years of illegal riverbed mining. They warned of intensified protests if authorities failed to take urgent steps for restoration and accountability.
“The illegal sand and boulder mining has been carried out for the last five to six years using heavy machinery, despite the National Green Tribunal’s orders to stop it. While the block in Chadoora was auctioned for just Rs 1.33 crore, material worth more than Rs 300 crores has been looted with JCBs, cranes, dumpers and tippers, damaging river embankments and irrigation kuls,” said Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a protesting farmer from Doyan.
The farmers said if the canals are not repaired before the next sowing season, over 6,000 kanals of land will also be indirectly impacted, compounding the crisis for local agriculture-dependent families.
The matter of illegal mining and pollution in Doodh Ganga has been pending before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for four years. In the case Raja Muzaffar Butt vs Govt of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and others, the NGT has already penalized the Mining Department Budgam and Municipal Committee Chadoora with Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh, respectively. Last year, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation was also slapped with an environmental compensation of Rs 42 crore for discharging untreated wastewater from 13 pump stations into the Doodh Ganga.
Meanwhile, the IIOJK administration has sanctioned Rs 140 crore for two sewage treatment plants at Chanapora and Chadoora, with tenders worth Rs 67 crore floated for the first phase. However, farmers expressed concern that the work has stalled due to weak response from contractors. The case is again scheduled for hearing before the NGT on September 25.
