Making amends

Mining in Kumbh Mela area has been banned:

P.S. Chauhan

The state government has issued a notification banning all sorts of quarrying and mining from the Ganga riverbed in the entire Kumbh Mela area, which spreads in parts of Haridwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts of the state.

Swami Shivanand, the founder of the Matri Sadan, undertook a fast unto death, demanding ban on quarrying and mining in the holy river and also the closure of all the stone crushers which were using the boulders, stones and pebbles excavated from the river. The Swami got support from many leading environmentalists and the sants who said that digging up stones and other sub minerals not only polluted the holy river but also posed a threat to the ecology of the region. After 24 days of the fast by the Swamiji, the state government issued a notification to ban mining from the Ganga in the Kumbh Mela area.

After receiving the government order, the district magistrate, Dr. R. Meenakshi Sundaram instructed the officials to implement the order and also ordered for the closure of all the stone crushers in the Kumbh area. Among others, the Himalayan Stone Crusher, one of the biggest stone crushers in the state, has also been sealed.

It may be mentioned here that Swami Shivanand and his followers have undertaken fast about 40 times since the last decade of the last century, demanding ban on quarrying in the Ganga and also for the shifting of all the stone crushers from the Kumbh Mela area. It is due to his unrelenting crusade that about 20 stone crushers in the district have so far been closed. The state government banned mining in the Ganga in the Kumbh mela area three times in the past. However, obviously under the pressure of the mining lobby, mining and quarrying again started every time. During the last Kumbh also, after 163 day fast of the sants of Matri Sadan, mining was banned by the state government. But the proprietors of the stone crushers went to the state High Court. Swami Shivanand alleges that the state government did not take interest in the petition and, therefore, the Nainital High Court allowed the petition of the stone crushers. After the government order this time, the administration has started cracking the whip on those indulging in mining in the proscribed area. However, the mining mafia is so audacious that they beat up a team of government personnel and snatched their vehicle, when they conducted a raid on a mining site. The administration has filed an F.I.R. against these persons. "We are determined to strictly implement the government order. We are constantly conducting raids on the mining sites. During the last one month alone fine of Rs. 22 lakh has been imposed on those indulging in illegal quarrying. Fine of Rs. 19 lakh has been imposed on one stone crusher alone. Beside this, fine of Rs. 3 lakh has been realised from the owners of the trucks, JCBs etc. engaged in illegal quarrying", says the S.D.M. (city), Harbeer Singh.

It remains to be seen that how long the new government order, banning mining and quarrying in the Ganga, remains effective.

Pachyderm wrath

Rogue tusker has forced the authorities to partially close Rishikesh-Dehradun highway::

P.S. Chauhan

Continuing their killing spree, the elephants, straying out of the forests, have trampled to death two more persons in Rishikesh region. Last week an infuriated tusker assaulted a Max Mahindra at about 6 p.m. on the Rishikesh-Dehradun highway, 5 km. from Rishikesh. As the 12 passengers, travelling by the vehicle, tried to escape, the tusker took two persons in the grip of its trunk and crushed them to death. There was mayhem on the highway, with long queues of vehicle on both the sides and the commuters running helter and skelter in panic. The rogue tusker also damaged a scooty, a motorbike and a car. The police and the forest officials, who reached the spot after getting information of the incident, diverted the traffic to alternative routes. They had a tough time in scaring away the tusker into the forest by firing gun shots in the air. The deceased were identified as Aashi Devi (32) and Sunil (28), both residents of Rishikesh. The next day, the locals held a big demonstration in front of the ranger's office to protest against the pachyderm menace. The demonstrators also blocked traffic on the highway for many hours. The forest authorities have declared that a compensation of Rs. 1,00,000 each will be provided to the families of the victims. Last week, at this very spot an elephant attacked a car and killed an old lady, Maheshwari Devi (85), while her son and his wife saved their life by running away. Just one day before Diwali this year, a pachyderm crushed to death three members of a family near Motichoor railway crossing, when they were returning to Rishikesh from Haridwar.

The sources say that this year seven persons have fallen prey to the wrath of the wandering elephants in Rishikesh region alone. "After a high level meeting of the forest and the police officials, it has been decided that in view of the elephants menace the Rishikesh-Dehradun highway will remain closed for traffic from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m.," said J.S. Sohag, the conservator of forests (Shivalik range). The divisional forest officer, Meenakshi Joshi said that a proposal has been sent to the chief wildlife warden of the state, Shrikant Chandola to declare the tusker as 'killer' to pave the way to kill it. However, the proposal is being opposed by the wild life activists. Rajendra Aggarwal, the state head of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) told Haridwar Plus that some other way should be found out to deal with the tusker. "Elephant is generally a peace loving animal. It attacks the commuters and others only when it is provoked by teasing or unnecessary blaring of horns," said Aggarwal.