Srinagar, Oct 3: The Chairman of Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Geelani on Sunday accused New Delhi of exploiting Kashmir’s natural resources and maintained demilitarisation is panacea for all ills in Valley.
 Geelani said Kashmir is blessed with lush forests and abundant water resources. “India is looting our natural resources since past two decades. The forests in various areas have been vandalized by the troops in league with pro-India politicians and cops. Despite complaints by the locals no action has been taken against the offenders. It establishes that vandalisation of our natural resources is part of a conspiracy,” Geelani said.
 Elaborating Geelani alleged that Army has set up band saw mills inside their camps in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. “The troopers make furniture of the smuggled timber and transport it to other states. For establishing the camps, the troops are felling trees on 52,000 kanals of land in Shopian. This is a dangerous trend which can drastically affect our climate and make our land a desert,” Geelani said.
 Geelani, who is spearheading the ongoing ‘Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement’, said the only solution to all the problems including deforestation is demilitarization.
 “Till then it is the responsibility of Kashmiris to take steps to save the natural wealth including forests. They should not allow the felling of trees in their respective areas,” he said. 
 Meanwhile, Geelani accused the Government of sabotaging the Conglomerate’s Varmul Chalo call on Sunday. “The tactics including the continuous curfew can’t hamper our movement. Instead these oppressive measures will intensify alienation against India,” he said.
 Geelani alleged that some police officers are harassing the people without any reason or provocation. “Some police officers are demanding hefty amounts from the parents in exchange of release of their children who were arrested during the past three months,” he alleged.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 3 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 4 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST